LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he will meet EU chief Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels next week as part of his plans to “reset” UK relations with the EU after Brexit.
The UK’s departure from the European Union after five decades of membership in 2020 has had an effect on trade and security cooperation, prompting calls for a rethink on future ties.
Late on Wednesday, Starmer — in New York for the UN General Assembly — posted a photo of himself and von der Leyen.
“I want to reset our relationship with the EU and make Brexit work for the British people,” he wrote on X, adding that he was “looking forward” to starting discussions with von der Leyen.
The visit will be Starmer’s first to Brussels since becoming prime minister in July and follows bilateral meetings with European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
As well as taking the UK out of the European customs union and single market, Brexit ended the free movement of EU citizens to live and work in Britain.
The EU has proposed a youth mobility scheme for 18-30-year-olds as part of a potential deal with the UK.
Reports have suggested Starmer, who voted in a 2016 referendum to remain in the EU, will try to water down the proposals to avoid anything that could be seen as the reintroduction of free movement.
Starmer, who was also Labour’s Brexit spokesman while the party was in opposition, pledged earlier this month that the “reset” would not mean reversing Brexit, which remains a political toxic subject in the UK.
“I want to be ambitious about what we can achieve within the EU reset,” he said.
“That does not mean going back into the EU, that does not mean going back into the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement. So they are the red lines within that framework.”