Starmer rules out reversing Brexit, but advocates a “reset” of relations with the EU

Aug. 28 () –

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday again ruled out reversing Brexit, although he defended the need for a “reset” and a “broader readjustment” in relations with the European Union.

“I am absolutely convinced of a readjustment (…) of a reset with Europe and the European Union,” but “that does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market system or the customs union,” he said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Berlin.

“We do have plans for a closer relationship between us and the EU (…) what we have been able to do today is to move forward in that direction with the bilateral treaty agreement and to reiterate our desire to restore relations,” he explained.

Starmer has travelled to the German capital to close a bilateral agreement with Scholz, which includes an action plan to combat illegal immigration, common commitments for Ukraine and new measures for economic development, trade, science and technology.

“Growth is the number one priority for my government and building relationships with our partners here in Germany and across Europe is vital to achieving that,” the British prime minister said, according to the BBC.

Starmer has also ruled out that this agreement between London and Berlin has any relation to a youth mobility plan and has insisted that it is focused on “trade, defence, the economy, illegal migration” and therefore, “there will be no free movement, there will be no return to the EU.”

“I am convinced that (…) we can have a close relationship despite these clear red lines that we have, and that we have always had,” he concluded.