European political Community meeting in Britain Starmer looks to reset relations with Europe

British Prime Minister Starmer has sought to reshape Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the European Union, pushing for closer defense cooperation with Europe.

More than 40 European leaders met in London on Thursday (July 18) for a meeting of the European Political Community, with British Prime Minister Starmer hoping to use the opportunity to update his country's post-Brexit relationship with the EU. Speaking ahead of the conference, he made clear that the past should not determine Britain's future relationship: "That is why European security will be at the top of this [Labour] government's foreign and defence priorities, and why I am focused on seizing this moment to renew our relationship with Europe."

"The European political community will fire the starting gun for this government's new approach to Europe, one that will benefit not only our present but future generations," Starmer said in a statement.

In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, causing years of conflict. Starmer is determined to reset Britain's relationship with the EU, and the one-day meeting of the European political Community is an opportunity for Starmer to push for closer defense cooperation with Europe.

European leaders generally welcomed Starmer's defense cooperation plan. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, said he believed a new chapter could be opened with Britain. "On the EU side, we are ready for more cooperation with the UK."

French President Emmanuel Macron said of Starmer's July 4 election win: "This is a great opportunity to reset (the EU-UK relationship)."

The Labour government wants to negotiate a security deal with the EU that covers a wide range of areas including energy, supply chains, pandemics and migration. Starmer will take part in the migration working group and the group working together to combat foreign interference to highlight Britain's sovereignty and democracy in the face of Russian interference. He will also advocate new border control policies to fulfill his campaign promise to try to prevent immigrants from entering the country illegally.

For Starmer, though, the most important thing at the moment is developing personal relationships with other leaders, which he says is crucial to the way he works to get the best results.