Leaders Talk Up Renewed Links, But No Major Changes Likely In Short-Term

Both new UK PM Sir Keir Starmer and senior EU and European leaders have sought to talk up efforts to improve cross-Channel relations amid the European Political Community (EPC) meeting taking place at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK. Speaking to the 40+ European leaders present at the EPC, Starmer said that he wanted to restore “trust and friendship” and that "This includes resetting our relationship with the EU because I believe that the UK and the EU, working together as sovereign partners, are a powerful force for good across our continent.”

• In the guidelines for the next European Commission, President-Elect Ursula von der Leyen stated that "...we will work to strengthen relations with the United Kingdom on issues of shared interest, such as energy, security, resilience and people-to-people contacts."
• EU High Rep. for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that “We welcome the new tone of the British government and we look forward to engaging with it. We are ready to reinforce our foreign and security policy cooperation", while Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris called the new UK gov't a 'gamechanger' for UK-EU relations.
• Despite the hopeful rhetoric any major shift in areas such as trade are unlikely in the short-term at least. Foreign Sec David Lammy said the two sides are "nowhere near" revisiting the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Focus is on areas seen as easier to reach agreement on such as veterinary standards and mutual recognition of qualifications.