British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday outlined an ambition for a swift and substantial step forward in the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union, describing such progress as the basis for further cooperation between the two sides.
Starmer said he wants to secure meaningful movement at the EU-UK summit planned for this year, with a focus on strengthening ties in trade, the broader economy, defence and security. He framed the effort as an attempt to move beyond the disputes that have marked recent relations.
On the subject of past tensions, he told listeners: "I strongly believe we’ve got to turn our back on the arguments of the past, not open old grievances," urging a forward-looking approach rather than revisiting previous conflicts.
When pressed about the political horizon and whether he would rule out offering membership of the EU single market or the customs union before the next election in 2029, Starmer avoided a direct commitment. Instead of answering yes or no, he reiterated that the upcoming summit would provide a venue to take UK-EU relations further.
The Prime Minister positioned the summit as a platform for achieving the early, substantive changes he described, without setting out specific policy guarantees or timelines for particular institutional arrangements such as single market or customs union membership.
The details Starmer provided were focused on the intent to deepen cooperation across trade, economic ties, defence collaboration and security arrangements. He emphasized the importance of leaving behind historical arguments as part of that process, while declining to draw a definitive line on potential future commitments ahead of the 2029 election.
The coming months, and the discussions at the summit, were framed by the prime minister as the first opportunity to translate this ambition into concrete steps, though his remarks stopped short of outlining any binding pledges on institutional alignment with the EU.