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02 October 2024 – 18:58
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer admitted this Wednesday, at the end of a day of meetings in Brussels, that the “reset” of the United Kingdom’s relations with the EU will not be an easy process.
Starmer held high-level meetings on the day, including a long meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
The meeting, he said, focused on turning the page on the old way of conducting these negotiations and starting a new way (…) Which does not mean that there will not be challenges, and does not mean that it will be easy.
For this reason, he added, the conversation with Von der Leyen focused on defining “the tone” of future contacts.
The day’s discussion “was the first step on a path that will lead to negotiations,” said the British Prime Minister at the end of their meetings.
Since taking power in July, Starmer has promised a “reset” in relations with the European Union, although he has provided few details on how to improve the carefully negotiated agreements that govern cross-Channel relations.
“I firmly believe that the British public wants to return to pragmatic and sensible leadership when it comes to dealing with our closest neighbours, to make Brexit work,” Starmer said on Wednesday in Brussels.
In turn, Von der Leyen said this Wednesday before the meeting that the two sides should “explore the possibilities of further cooperation as we focus on the full and faithful implementation of the withdrawal agreement.”
“In these times of uncertainty, like-minded partners must cooperate more closely,” he noted.
This is the first visit by a British prime minister to EU headquarters since 2020, and with it Starmer intends to send a clear signal that the page has been turned after his Labor Party expelled the Conservatives from power.
But the British leader – who in the 2016 referendum voted to remain in the EU – has insisted that the “reset” of relations will not mean reversing Brexit, which remains a politically toxic issue in the United Kingdom.
Instead, Starmer is under pressure to be more precise about what exactly the UK wants from the EU and what it is willing to give in return.
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