“He’s seen as a very serious diplomat,” said one EU envoy, “he’s very well connected.”
The move comes as Starmer and the U.K.’s Labour government pushes for closer ties with the EU, looking to bring the country closer to the rest of the continent after Brexit.
Speaking in February, Ivan Rogers, the former British ambassador who oversaw Brexit preparations, told POLITICO that closer ties between the U.K. and the EU were likely “given the [World Trade Organization] is blowing up and the Americans are deliberately blowing up the multilateral rules-based order.”
A landmark EU-U.K. summit is expected to be held in the summer, with Britain seeking to negotiate expanded economic and security cooperation with Brussels.