Keir Starmer was invited to dinner in Brussels with 27 EU leaders to discuss EU-UK relations, primarily in the defence field. As Reuters stressed, for the first time a British leader has attended specified a gathering since Britain left the block in 2020.
During dinner, Starmer presented 5 areas where the UK and the EU could cooperate more. These are: military mobility and logistics; closer cooperation in mission field; protection against threats and sabotage; improvement of military technology and industry.
"Fragmentation would weaken us all," he said, quoted by Reuters, who presented a study from the gathering based on the Prime Minister's office information on Downing Street.
The emphasis on strengthening the safety ties between Brussels and London arises erstwhile many European countries measure the cost of expanding defence spending in consequence to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to the global Institute for strategical Studies, the United Kingdom, which has 1 of the strongest armed forces in Europe, will spend this year the second largest amount of defence in Europe, after Germany.
On Monday, Starmer urged EU leaders to exert greater economical force on Russia to dismantle president Vladimir Putin's "war machine".
It was besides decided in Brussels that On 19 May, the EU-UK Defence Summit will be held in the UK.
