Ten years after the referendum that led to Brexit, Britain and the European Union must close ranks in an increasingly unstable world, their leaders said on Saturday.<\/p>\n
A decade after the historic referendum that set Brexit in motion, the United Kingdom and the European Union are calling for a united front to combat global instability.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe and the UK must work together more closely on \u201csecurity, on the economy\u2026 on defending our democracies.\u201d She added, \u201cEurope, and in particular the UK, should come closer together\u2026 10 years on from Brexit, our futures are as bound as ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
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British leader Keir Starmer echoed her. \u201cWe are not at a crossroads: The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must be able to deter aggression and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight,\u201d he said, calling for a building of \u201ca shared industrial base across Europe which can turbocharge our defence production\u201d and \u201cmultiply our strengths\u201d.<\/p>\n
On Friday NATO chief Mark Rutte said that \u201ca strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever\u201d and French President Emmanuel Macron said that \u201cthis is the right time for a strong Europe,\u201d that would be \u201cbuilding its own architecture of security\u201d.<\/p>\n
Starmer has attempted to reset ties with the European Union since coming to office in 2024, four years after Britain exited the EU, and has also taken a leading role in coordinating European support for Ukraine against Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n
However, talks for Britain to join the EU\u2019s SAFE defence fund broke down last year. Starmer has said that he is open to joining a new version of SAFE, and is looking at other ways to work more closely with Europe on defence.<\/p>\n
The Labour Party leader came to office in the wake of successive Conservative governments whose approach to negotiations to take Britain out of the EU sometimes strained relations with Brussels.<\/p>\n
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Starmer will say that \u201cwe are not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore\u201d, according to the speech extracts, adding that to turn inward would surrender control of Britain\u2019s security.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain,\u201d the extracts said.<\/p>\n
Starmer\u2019s office said Friday that the PM will tell the Munich Security Conference that Europe is \u201ca sleeping giant\u201d and must rely less on the United States for its defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full and remakes the ties that have served us so well,\u201d the UK prime minister will say Saturday, according to excerpts released by Downing Street.<\/p>\n
With inputs from agencies<\/p>\n