Keir Starmer greeted an array of leaders including Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron today as he kicked off a major summit.
The PM welcomed the Ukrainian and French presidents on the steps of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire as the European Political Community (EPC) meeting got under way.
Talks between the 45 premiers at the birthplace of Winston Churchill are likely to be dominated by the Ukraine war and illegal migration, with the King holding a reception later.
EU sources told the Times that they believe Sir Keir will use a dinner with Emmanuel Macron tonight to raise a potential agreement to send back small boat arrivals in return for accepting a number of asylum seekers.
The discussions come as Sir Keir attempts to negotiate closer ties with the EU after Brexit.
Keir Starmer greeted an array of leaders including Volodymyr Zelensky to Blenheim Palace today
EU sources believe Sir Keir will use a dinner with Emmanuel Macron (pictured) tonight to raise a potential agreement to send back small boat arrivals in return for accepting a number of asylum seekers
Talks between the 45 premiers at the birthplace of Winston Churchill are likely to be dominated by the Ukraine war and illegal migration, with the King holding a reception later
Keir Starmer welcomes Council of Europe secretary general Marija Pejcinovic Buric to Blenheim Palace today
Dutch PM Dick Schoof arrives at Blenheim Palace for the summit today
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK is ‘nowhere near’ negotiating agreements with the EU
The Labour Government is seeking a security pact with the EU and Sir Keir is also determined to cement European nations’ support for Ukraine in its war with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Sir Keir will join a session on migration co-chaired by Italy’s right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni at the summit in Oxfordshire.
He will also have a series of face-to-face talks with key figures including Polish counterpart Donald Tusk – who was president of the European Council at the height of the Brexit drama – as he attempts to strengthen ties with the continent.
The PM said: ‘We cannot let the challenges of the recent past define our relationships of the future.
‘That is why European security will be at the forefront of this Government’s foreign and defence priorities, and why I am focused on seizing this moment to renew our relationship with Europe.
‘The EPC will fire the starting gun on this Government’s new approach to Europe, one that will not just benefit us now, but for generations to come, from dismantling the people-smuggling webs trafficking people across Europe, to standing up to Putin’s barbaric actions in Ukraine and destabilising activity across Europe. ‘
He added: ‘We will only be able to secure our borders, drive economic growth and defend our democracies if we work together.’
On a round of broadcast interviews this morning, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he did not ‘recognise’ suggestions Sir Keir would seek a returns deal.
‘We’ve got no plans in that area. But as I said, we’re not in the negotiating space at this point in time. What we have done is set out our red lines.’
Under the Government’s plans to respond to the small boats crisis, asylum decisions will be accelerated and, under a new fast-tracked system in the returns and enforcement unit, officials will prioritise those with no right to be in the UK and who have the greatest chance of being returned.
A new Border Security Command will use counter-terror powers to fight organised immigration crime, working ‘across Europe and beyond’, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said.
Sir Keir will have a series of face-to-face talks with key figures including Polish counterpart Donald Tusk – who was president of the European Council at the height of the Brexit drama
‘Dangerous small boat crossings are undermining our border security and putting lives at risk,’ she said.
‘Criminal smuggling gangs are making millions out of small boat crossings and the Tories left us with gimmick rather than grip.
‘We will work right across Europe to tackle this problem at source, going after those profiting from this awful trade and bringing them to justice.’
More than 380,000 people are believed to have entered the EU through irregular routes in 2023 – an increase of 17 per cent on the previous year.
Around 41 per cent of those arrivals are believed to have come in small boats across the Central Mediterranean, 26 per cent on land through the Balkans, and 16 per cent coming across the Eastern Mediterranean.
The gathering at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill, is a more informal affair than many international summits.
The leaders will attend a reception hosted by the King in the palace’s Long Library, which has walls lined by more than 10,000 books,
The EPC was the brainchild of France’s Emmanuel Macron and involves 20 non-EU nations including the UK as well as the 27-strong EU bloc.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister for European relations at the heart of the Government’s reset plan, will also be at the gathering.
