UK Conservative leader Starmer aims to repair EU ties as Trump looms

“We cannot allow the challenges of the recent past to define our relationships in the future,” Starmer said in a speech on Wednesday. statement From Downing Street.

“That’s why European security will be at the forefront of this government’s foreign and defence priorities, and why I am focused on seizing this moment to renew our relationship with Europe,” he added.

In his opening speech at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, Starmer will tell attendees that his new British government will play a “more active and greater role” on the world stage.

This comes as the specter of a second presidency for Republican candidate Donald Trump looms in Europe after an assassination attempt over the weekend that boosted support for the former president.

Both Trump and his recently announced running mate J.D. Vance have signaled that continued support for Europe — and especially Ukraine — is not guaranteed under a second Trump administration. The Republican presidential candidate has repeatedly criticized the continent’s lack of defense spending and threatened to withdraw from NATO, while Vance has shown hesitation about U.S. involvement in foreign affairs.

In preparation, European NATO members have increased their defence spending, including a new commitment from Starmer to spend 2.5% of the UK’s GDP on defence.

Thursday’s meeting is an early opportunity for Starmer to meet key European allies on home soil, after attending last week’s NATO summit in Washington and being elected on July 4.

EU leaders 27 Member StatesEgyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, along with 20 other heads of state from across the region, arrived Thursday for a one-day European policy summit at the historic English country house.

For the first time this year, members of NATO, the OSCE and the Council of Europe are also participating in the forum.

This is the fourth time the EU-Russia Partnership Forum has been held since it was established in 2022 by French President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The stated objectives of the forum are to strengthen political dialogue and cooperation, and to promote security, stability and prosperity in Europe. Sessions on Thursday include three roundtables on migration, energy and connectivity, and defending and securing democracy.

But discussions about a new UK-EU trade deal after Brexit will not be on the table, with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy telling the BBC earlier on Thursday that the two sides were “a long way” from reaching such an agreement.

The summit has faced criticism in the past from those who question the value of another political gathering, especially since the previous summit in Granada, Spain, ended with few tangible results.