Andy Burnham will welcome Emmanuel Macron to Downing Street next week as he pushes for closer ties with the European Union. The French President will be the first European leader to visit the UK since Mr Burnham entered 10 Downing Street last month.
Mr Macron is expected to attend the formal opening of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum, where the 900-year-old artifact is being displayed on loan, according to Politico. It is another sign that Mr Burnham is continuing his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer‘s drive for stronger relations with Brussels.
The former Greater Manchester mayor last week called for the UK to be “bolder” in closer ties with the bloc and insisted that “greater co-operation” was needed across all areas.
Later, Downing Street declined to expand on what being “bolder” would mean, with a spokeswoman saying they would not provide a “running commentary” on negotiations with the bloc.
Before he became PM, Mr Burnham told The Times he wanted to make “further progress quickly including by strengthening our co-operation on illegal migration, economic security and the broader resilience of our societies to external threats — from terrorism to AI-driven disinformation”.
During his campaign to win the Brexit-voting Makerfield constituency in the crunch by-election, he U-turned on previous comments that he wanted to see Britain back in the club within his lifetime.
An EU summit, which was postponed in July due to Sir Keir’s resignation, will take place later this year. While no date has been confirmed, Mr Burnham is thought to be planning it in October.
The UK and the EU had been aiming to reach an agreement on food and agricultural standards at the summit.
It comes after Mr Burnham, who has largely focused on domestic issues such as the cost of living since entering 10 Downing Street, made his first trip to war-torn Ukraine as Prime Minister earlier this week.
And he is expected to head to the US next month to join European leaders in lobbying Donald Trump on support for Kyiv when the UN General Assembly meets.