UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is working to improve relations with the European Union (EU), is expected to meet with EU leaders in February next year, according to a leading British media outlet.
The outlet reported, citing two EU officials, that Ant?nio Costa, the former Prime Minister of Portugal who will assume the rotating presidency of the EU Council on the 1st of next month, plans to invite Prime Minister Starmer to a lunch with the leaders of the 27 EU member states in Belgium on February 3rd next year.
Since Brexit (the UK's withdrawal from the EU) in 2020, no British prime minister has attended such a meeting, so if Prime Minister Starmer meets with EU leaders this time, it is expected to be a turning point in resetting relations. The UK prime minister has so far engaged with EU leaders through the European Political Community (EPC), a pan-European security forum.
Regarding the meeting in February next year, these officials said it will be an informal event without written statements or records of the meeting results, describing it as "a brainstorming session for (security) ideas." Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is also expected to attend the lunch.
The meeting in February next year will take place at a time when the Ukraine war is entering a new phase with the re-election of former US President Donald Trump. The Starmer government, around its launch in July this year, drew a line against rejoining the EU but expressed a desire to establish a new security agreement with the EU covering security, energy, and illegal immigration.
On the 27th, Prime Minister Starmer also mentioned in Parliament that he is firmly committed to resetting relations with the EU and has already begun such work, discussing cooperation in various fields including trade and security.
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