Britain’s new government announced on Saturday that the “arc of conflict and instability” threatening Europe’s borders will be the focus of a meeting of the European Political Community near London.
European leaders to discuss ‘arc of conflict’ at summit: UK
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour party won an overwhelming majority in the July 4 UK general election, is due to host more than 45 European leaders at Blenheim Palace in west London on Thursday.
Outside the summit, Trump is due to meet with Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron as the new administration “seeks to rebuild relationships with our key European partners”.
Starmer’s government said in a press release that the summit would discuss “some of the most pressing generational challenges” facing the continent.
Labour added that NATO, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe will be attending an EPC meeting for the first time, “demonstrating the importance of unity in responding to spiralling conflict and instability both within and beyond Europe’s borders”.
Starmer warned that “Europe is on the frontline of the greatest challenge of our time”, highlighting “Russia’s barbaric wars” that “continue to ripple across the continent”.
The two leaders will meet at the country house that was the birthplace of Winston Churchill and are also due to discuss illegal immigration and energy.
“We cannot remain spectators to this chapter in history. We must do more and push forward, not just for the sake of the brave Ukrainians on the frontline and those being trafficked from country to country, but so that our future generations can look back with pride on what our continent has achieved together,” Starmer said ahead of the summit.
The Prime Minister, a strong supporter of Britain remaining in the EU, promised to “transform the way the UK engages with our European partners and move forward together to solve these generational challenges”.
In his first week in office, Starmer is expected to reiterate Britain’s “firm” support for Ukraine and use the meeting to argue for continued international military and financial support for what is expected to be a “hard winter”.
This will be the fourth EPC meeting since the group was established in October 2022.
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EPC Group
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