Britain’s Starmer in Brussels for talks on EU reset
Al Jazeera
The British PM ruled out any return to the EU’s single market, its customs union or freedom of movement arrangements.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as part of his push for a reset with the European Union and as 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 a wholesale negotiation of the Brexit deal that took Britain out of the EU in 2020. But he is looking to tweak the relationship in a range of areas.
“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 on Wednesday after arriving in Brussels.
“We are determined to put this relationship back on a stable, positive footing that I think we all want to see.”
Starmer has already visited Berlin, Paris, Rome and Dublin since the election to lay the groundwork for a reset.
