Keir Starmer denies he’s ‘reversing Brexit’ as he uses Berlin visit to push his ‘reset’ of EU relations and seal new UK-Germany pact by end of the year _hieuuk
Sir Keir Starmer today denied he is ‘reversing Brexit‘ as he used a visit to Berlin to push his promised ‘reset’ of Britain’s relations with the European Union.
The PM, speaking at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, outlined his ambition for a new UK-Germany treaty.
He said the ‘wide-ranging pact’, which Downing Street hopes will be signed by the end of this year, was part of a ‘wider reset’ of the UK’s links with European capitals.
But the Labour premier, who once backed a second EU referendum, added that ‘does not mean reversing Brexit’ or rejoining the EU’s single market or customs union.
Sir Keir also appeared to rule out Britain signing up to an EU proposal for a youth mobility scheme that would return free movement for young Europeans.
Senior Tories warned the PM not to ‘cede control’ or to ‘reopen all the arguments’ about Brexit in his efforts to forge closer links with the EU.
Sir Keir was holding talks with senior German politicians and business leaders today before travelling to Paris for a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron tomorrow.
The PM, speaking at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, outlined his ambition for a new UK-Germany treaty
Sir Keir Starmer said the ‘wide-ranging pact’, which Downing Street hopes will be signed by the end of this year, was part of a ‘wider reset’ of the UK’s links with European capitals
Speaking at today’s press conference in Berlin, Mr Scholz said the UK and Germany will ‘base our relations on an entirely new footing’
Speaking in the German capital, Sir Keir said a new UK-Germany treaty is a ‘once-in-a-generation chance to deliver for working people’ in both countries.
‘A new agreement, a testament to the depth and potential of our relationship with deeper links on science, technology, development, people, business, culture, a boost to our trading relations,’ the PM said.
‘Germany, of course, is already the UK’s second-largest trading partner in the world, and through that a chance to create jobs here and in the UK, and deliver that most precious of goods for both our countries, economic growth.
‘Let me be clear – growth is the number one mission of my Government and what we understand clearly is that building relationships with our partners here in Germany and across Europe is vital to achieving it.’
Sir Keir added that a new defence agreement would be ‘at the heart’ of the UK’s relationship with Germany, as he hailed the two countries’ ‘unyielding’ support for Ukraine.
He revealed he and Mr Scholz had also agreed to develop a ‘joint action plan to tackle illegal migration’, adding: ‘Because we cannot smash the smuggling gangs who perpetrate this vile trade without the help of our partners.’
The PM said a new UK-Germany treaty would see the two nations become the ‘strongest strategic partners in Europe, and on the world stage’.
But he stresed that Labour’s bid for a ‘wider reset’ of Britain’s relations with European countries ‘does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or the customs union’.
Sir Keir also said his Government is not planning for a youth mobility scheme with EU members.
‘We do not have plans for the youth mobility scheme, but we do have plans for a closer relationship between us and the EU,’ he added.
Earlier this year, former PM Rishi Sunak rejected an EU offer to make it easier for Brits aged between 18 and 30 to live, study and work across the bloc.
The EU proposed significantly reducing immigration controls on young people moving between the UK and EU.
The suggested four-year visas would have no restrictions on time spent working, studying, training or volunteering.
Such a scheme is backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan and it has been suggested it could be demanded by Brussels as part of a rewriting of the Brexit trade deal, which Sir Keir has previously promised.
The PM denied that disagreements over a proposed youth mobility scheme will impact the UK-German treaty discussions as he reiterated his commitment to ‘clear red lines’ with the EU post-Brexit.
Asked if Mr Scholz’s desire for a youth mobility scheme would hamper negotiations, he told reporters in Berlin: ‘The treaty is a bilateral treaty, so that’s got nothing to do with youth mobility or anything like that.
‘That’s to do with trade, defence, the economy, illegal migration, etc. In relation to youth mobility, obviously, we’ve been really clear: no single market, no customs union, no free movement, no going back into the EU.
‘So the discussion about a close relationship with the EU is in that context and within those frameworks, I’m convinced, and I think you heard from the Chancellor himself, that we can have a closer relationship, notwithstanding those clear red lines that we’ve got, and we’ve always had.’
Asked if he was open to re-joining the EU study abroad scheme Erasmus, Sir Keir said: ‘None of the detail like that was discussed today because the focus was on the bilateral treaty that we want to develop.’
Sir Keir Starmer met with Mr Scholz in Berlin this morning during his visit to the German capital
Speaking at today’s press conference in Berlin, Mr Scholz said the UK and Germany will ‘base our relations on an entirely new footing’.
‘Germany and the UK share long-standing and a trustful partnership which is based on shared values and reliable friendship,’ he said.
‘We are going to foster and promote this co-operation for the benefit of our peoples, for the benefit of Europe and security and the transatlantic sphere.
‘We want to continue to intensify these relations.’
After his talks with Mr Scholz, Sir Keir will later travel to Paris for the Paralympics opening ceremony this evening.
He will then hold a breakfast meeting with French business leaders on Thursday before a summit with Mr Macron at the Elysee Palace.
Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick this morning told Sir Keir not to ‘cede control’ in his ‘reset’ of Britain’s relations with the EU.
‘I don’t want us to be undermining NATO as the principal foundation of our security and defence in Europe,’ he told Sky News.
‘And I don’t want us to lose the Brexit benefits that we should now be harnessing.’
He added: ‘The UK is well placed to tap into the fastest growing markets and sectors of the future.
‘But you don’t do that by simply tying us to Europe and ensuring all of our regulatory framework is the same as theirs.
‘We need to be more nimble, we need to have smarter regulation.’
Lord David Frost, who was the UK’s chief Brexit negotiator, challenged Sir Keir’s claim he wanted to ‘turn a corner on Brexit’.
He said the PM instead wanted to ‘reopen all the arguments and to renegotiate the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, in a way that starts making us subject to EU law once again’.
‘That’s not moving on, it’s moving back,’ the Tory peer added.
Lord Frost also questioned whether Sir Keir had definitively ruled out a youth mobility scheme with EU members.
He said: ‘If you are not going to do something, you say: ‘We are not going to do it.’ If you think you might yet do it, you say: ‘We have no plans’.’
Ex-Conservative MP David Jones, a former Brexit minister, told MailOnline: ‘Everyone knows that Keir Starmer did his very best to stop Brexit, even calling for a second referendum when the will of the people had already been made very clear.
‘The British people should keep a very close eye on what he says and does in Germany and hold him to account if he makes yet another attempt to backslide on Brexit.’
The PM is eyeing a new treaty with Germany aimed at boosting business and increasing joint action on illegal migration
Sir Keir, who once backed a second EU referendum, was expected to use his two-day visit to hail a ‘once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset our relationship with Europe’
Prior to his talks with Mr Scholz, the PM met German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin.
Sir Keir signed the palace guestbook in the entrance hall, which had been decorated with red, white and blue flowers, before holding a private bilateral meeting with Mr Steinmeier at the start of a day of meetings in the German capital.
He is the first British PM to visit Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the German president, since David Cameron in 2015.
Sir Keir came at the invitation of Mr Steinmeier after the pair met at the Euros football in Germany earlier this year.
Since entering No10, the PM has promised a ‘reset’ of Britain’s ties with the EU, to rewite the UK’s ‘botched’ Brexit trade deal, and to strike a new UK-EU security pact.
The UK’s negotiation team will spend the next six months working on the treaty with Germany, aiming to agree a partnership by early 2025.
The PM today reiterated his personal condolences to the German people following the attack in Solingen on Friday, where three people died.
While he is in Berlin, Sir Keir was also expected to meet the chief executive of Siemens Energy, Dr Christian Bruch.
In Paris, the PM’s breakfast meeting is expected to include representatives from companies including Thales and Sanofi.
Sir Keir will then meet Paralympians preparing for their competitions before meeting the French President at the Elysee Palace.
The PM earlier met German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin this morning
Sir Keir signed the palace guestbook in the entrance hall before holding a private bilateral meeting with Mr Steinmeier at the start of a day of meetings in the German capital
The PM will later travel to Paris for a summit with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Thursday
The PM and Mr Scholz are ‘more or less on the same page’ about improving the UK’s relationship with Europe, a senior member of the German chancellor’s party said.
Nils Schmid, the foreign affairs spokesman for the SPD’s parliamentary group, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Germany would like a deal on youth mobility.
Asked what Mr Scholz would like from the meeting, Mr Schmid said: ‘They are more or less on the same page.
‘So there is a constant push by the German government to bring the UK closer to Europe and to facilitate cooperation between Great Britain and the EU in as many fields as possible, ranging from trade to student mobility rights to defence.
‘And then, of course, there’s also the idea of not only preparing the ground for a EU-UK agreement, but also to strengthen the bilateral ties between Germany and Great Britain by concluding a bilateral friendship treaty or co-operation treaty, as is already in existence between France and the UK, the so-called Lancaster House accord.’
A youth mobility scheme was ‘a major feature of our wish list’ but ‘this is not about immigration in a general sense’, he added.
‘This is about facilitating access of youth to Great Britain for stays of limited duration, for purposes like educational programmes, youth exchange or student exchange.’
But Mr Schmid suggested it could include ‘working experience which is also of limited duration’.
Last month, at the EPC summit held at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, Sir Keir said the UK will be a ‘friend and a partner ready to work’ with Europe.
He added that ‘we can only make progress on the issues that so many people care about, like illegal migration and national security, if we have the maturity and leadership to reach out a hand to our European friends’.
