British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host the presidents of the European Council and European Commission on 19 May, as he tries to “reset” relations with the EU.
10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s office, confirmed the visit in a statement on Tuesday, after European Council President António Costa mentioned the prospect in a press conference on Monday evening.
Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party swept to power in a landslide election victory in July, having pledged to mend bridges with Brussels, but without returning to the EU’s single market, customs union or free-movement rules.
On Monday, Starmer became the first British prime minister to take part in an EU leaders’ meeting since the country left the union in 2020. The informal summit in Brussels focused on defence. In a press conference afterwards, Costa said he was looking forward to an “institutional summit” in the United Kingdom on 19 May.
“The UK will welcome European Union leaders to the UK for the first UK-EU Leaders’ Summit on 19 May,” Downing Street said in its statement on Tuesday.
“The Prime Minister will host the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.”
In other words, Costa and von der Leyen are the leaders representing the EU at the summit – not the 27 national leaders who were present on Monday.
The Downing Street press release did not mention where in the United Kingdom the summit will be held. It also did not mention any specific topics for discussion, other than “areas which will deliver tangible benefits for the people of the UK and the EU.”
Starmer and von der Leyen had agreed to hold regular summits after their first meeting in Brussels in October.
Local elections will be held in England two weeks before the meeting, on 1 May.
[OM]