French President Emmanuel Macron and new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer today pledged to “strengthen cooperation on irregular migration” and revitalize the security partnership between Paris and London.
Government officials also announced that the next Franco-British summit, held in Paris in 2023, would be held in the United Kingdom in 2025, when conservative Rishi Sunak was head of the British government.
Since Keir Starmer’s Labor party came to power in early July, the United Kingdom has expressed its desire to renegotiate relations with the European Union (EU) to turn the tide of the ‘shock’ caused by Brexit.
“Looking to the future, France and the United Kingdom will persevere in their cooperation in all areas of their relations”, the two leaders pledged in a joint press release after a bilateral working dinner on the sidelines of the European Political Community (CPE) summit. ) held at Blenheim Palace, northwest of London.
The influx of immigrants crossing the English Channel is a matter of great importance to the British.
“The Prime Minister and the President condoled the victims of the tragic incidents that took place on the English Channel yesterday. [quarta-feira] And last week”, they promised.
According to the note, Macron and Starmer “committed to strengthening their cooperation in the fight against illegal migration and the criminal organizations responsible for these tragic deaths during small boat crossings”.
“If we want to resolve the situation in the English Channel, it’s not only on a bilateral level,” he defended Emmanuel Macron at a press conference at the end of the summit, after saying there was no “magic wand” to do so. .
“This is the first entry to work more effectively with European countries and with all the different countries to fight traffickers clearly and effectively,” he added.
Reaffirming the same support for Ukraine, the leaders said they “want to revitalize their security cooperation to better consider the complex issues of the modern world and the various threats posed by hostile states and non-state actors to their values and interests”.
The French head of state considered “this meeting a very important moment to carry out this review” of Franco-British relations and between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
However, he called on Britain to “respect what was decided and signed” during the negotiations following its exit from the EU.
