UK’s PM Keir Starmer visits Brussels for first talks on EU reset

He is looking to tweak the relationship but has ruled out any return to the EU’s single market, its customs union or freedom of movement

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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen speak to the press at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:59pm, 2 Oct 2024Updated: 10:26pm, 2 Oct 2024

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday as part of his push for a reset with the EU and a first chance to discuss issues like trade, security and youth mobility with Brussels.

Starmer, whose Labour Party won an election in July, has said his government will not seek wholesale negotiation of the Brexit deal that took Britain out of the European Union in 2020.

But he is looking to tweak the relationship in a range of areas. The European Union shares his desire for a joint security pact, but talks on barriers to the movement of goods and people could prove thornier.

“I firmly believe that the British public wants a return to pragmatic, sensible leadership when it comes to dealing with our closest neighbours,” Starmer said after arriving in Brussels.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) speaks to members of the media in Rome. Starmer has already visited Berlin, Paris, Rome and Dublin to lay the groundwork for a reset with the EU. Photo: Reuters

Starmer has already visited Berlin, Paris, Rome and Dublin since the election to lay the groundwork for a reset. As well as von der Leyen, Starmer will also hold talks with European Council President Charles Michel and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola on Wednesday.

A Commission spokesperson on Monday described the meeting with von der Leyen as the “beginning of a conversation”, on how the relationship between Britain and the bloc could evolve.