New UK government ‘committed to resetting relationship with EU’
Keir Starmer has wasted little time in pushing for a reset of Britain’s post-Brexit relations with the EU, with his new Europe minister getting the train to Brussels on Monday.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the new minister for the constitution and European relations, tweeted this morning an image of him getting on the Eurostar to Brussels from London St Pancras to meet with EU commission vice president Maros Sefcovic for a new round of Brexit talks.
While Labour have made it clear they will not try to rejoin the EU or the customs union and single market, their manifesto promised a “reset” of Brexit relations and a renegotiated deal.
Many had believed that Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework would be the end of Brexit talks, but Sir Keir told The Independent during the election that problems with the trade agreement signed by Boris Johnson and hold ups at the border still need to be resolved.
according to the Cabinet Office, the meeting aims to set the ground for further discussions between the UK and EU as the UK seeks to reset its relationship with the bloc and build closer cooperation on shared issues.
A statement said that the meeting follows their positive introductory call on Sunday 7t July and Mr Thomas-Symonds’ visit to Brussels on 8 July, on his first full day in the role, where he met with the UK Ambassador to the EU and addressed staff at the UK Mission to the EU.
He was also at the Nato conference in Washington DC where he took a lead role in talking to EU partners who are member states of the defence alliance in preparation for the European Political Council (EPC) summit at Blenheim Palace on Thursday this week.
