WOODSTOCK: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday pledged to strengthen ties with European allies on security and illegal migration, insisting “Britain is back” as he seeks to rebuild bridges after Brexit.

Labour leader Starmer, elected premier two weeks ago, said the UK would be “resetting our approach” as he started work to improve relations hit by the country’s tortuous departure from the European Union under his Conservative predecessors.

“We are going to deepen our cooperation on defence and security and on illegal migration,” he told more than 45 leaders as he opened the European Political Community (EPC) meeting at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill.

Europe is grappling with challenges ranging from supporting Kyiv after Russia’s full-scale invasion to breaking up people-smuggling gangs contributing to record levels of irregular migration.

In the background hangs the increasing possibility of Donald Trump regaining the White House in November, with fears over his commitment to the Western military alliance Nato.

Trump’s newly elected running mate J.D. Vance is an outspoken critic of military aid to Ukraine and has pushed for negotiations with Russia to end the two-year-plus war.

“It’s very important to be here, for Ukraine, especially this tough period, for us during the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford, southern England.

“For us it’s very important to maintain unity in Europe because always this unity leads to strong decisions,” added Zelensky. While at the summit, the Ukrainian leader signed long-term security cooperation agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, attending an EPC summit for the first time, insisted aiding Ukraine must remain a “joint effort” by Europe and the United States.

‘No silver bullet’

In a departure from the often fractious relations that characterised the run-up to Brexit, Starmer, who led Labour to a landslide election win over the Tories on July 4, told European counterparts that his government would be “a friend and a partner ready to work with you”. He called irregular migration a “crisis” affecting every country attending.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2024