STarmer, who took office last week after a comfortable victory in the legislative elections, defended during the campaign the importance of restoring relations with European neighbors after years of tension caused by ‘Brexit’, the process of leaving the European Union (EU).
The presence of 45 European leaders for the fourth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), hosted by the United Kingdom, is seen as an opportunity to develop closer collaboration.
The issues of migration, energy and the defense and safeguarding of democracy will be on the agenda of the meeting, which will also discuss the war in Ukraine.
“I said I would change the way the UK engages with our European partners, working collaboratively to address these challenges,” he said in a statement, adding that “that work begins at the European Political Community meeting on Thursday.”
Starmer refuses to let European leaders be “spectators in this chapter of history”.
“We must do more and go further, not only for the brave Ukrainians on the frontline, or for those being trafficked from country to country, but also so that our future generations look back with pride on what our continent has achieved together,” he argued.
The EPC meeting will take place at Blenheim Palace, a grand 18th-century stately home near Oxford that belonged to the family of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The historic building was used as a base by the MI5 secret service during the Second World War.
For the first time, NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe will participate in a meeting of this group.
The event will feature an opening plenary session, followed by three round tables on migration, energy and connectivity, and on defending and safeguarding democracy, before ending with a closing plenary session.
On a bilateral level, the British Prime Minister is scheduled to receive his Irish counterpart, Simon Harris, before the meeting and have dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the end of the event on Thursday.
However, there will be opportunities during the day for further bilateral meetings.
The EPC was created in 2022 as an informal forum for political, economic and security cooperation, bringing together European countries beyond the 27 member states of the European Union.
In addition to the leaders of the 27 EU Member States, previous meetings were attended by the six Western Balkan countries (Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina), the four EFTA members (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway), the Western Partnership countries with the exception of Belarus, which is suspended (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), the United Kingdom and Turkey.
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2597897/novo-primeiro-ministro-britanico-quer-restaurar-relacoes-europeias
