A long embrace at the start of the day; a tête-à-tête dinner in the evening and promises of a reunion after the Brexit rifts: Gestures of goodwill and affable words flowed between Emmanuel Macron and the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, at the European Political Community summit on Thursday, July 18, at Blenheim Palace, near Oxford (UK).
The contrast between the two leaders was striking: The first has just suffered an electoral defeat and is now forced to deal with a hung parliament. The second had just won the parliamentary elections by a landslide and found himself propelled to power at the head of a comfortable majority. Receiving some 40 European leaders, the new head of the British government took his first steps on the international stage, two weeks after his victory over the Conservatives. Meanwhile, the political crisis caused by the dissolution of the Assemblée Nationale has weakened the French president with his foreign counterparts.
Starmer and Macron don't intend to stop there. The British leader knows he needs the French president, and a future French government, to complete the "reset" of relations between his country and the European Union (EU), after the damage caused by Brexit. "We want to work with each of you to restore [our] relationship, rediscover our common interest and renew the bonds of trust and friendship that make up the fabric of European life," said the head of the Labour government, welcoming his guests.
Starmer emphasized his intention to negotiate a "defense pact" with the EU, at a time when the war in Ukraine is undermining Europe's security, urging London not to depend solely on the United States, particularly in the event of Donald Trump's return to the White House after the US presidential election. Documents displayed in Blenheim Palace's halls confirm that Winston Churchill, born in this castle, contributed to the founding of the Council of Europe after the Second World War.
Macron, for his part, was pleased that the United Kingdom was getting involved in the European Political Community, established at his initiative in the autumn of 2022, shortly after Vladimir Putin's Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. From London’s perspective, this format allows reconnection with the continent on critical issues for everyone, without having to deal with the EU.
The fourth summit of the leaders of this "wider Europe," which excludes the Russian and Belarusian dictators, dedicated much of its proceedings on Thursday to supporting Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in attendance. In the absence of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the participants examined, at London's suggestion, ways of limiting the activity of the Russian "phantom fleet," which enables Moscow to continue exporting oil despite the European embargo.
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