UK forecloses talks on return to the EU

 

BERLIN  – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday ruled out rejoining the European Union as he met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin. On a two-day visit to Europe, Starmer said he wants to “reset” the UK’s relations with the EU.

“That does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or the customs union, but it does mean a closer relationship on a number of fronts,” the prime minister said at a press conference after talks with Scholz.

Starmer and Scholz agreed on a new UK-Germany treaty which would result in “deeper links on science, technology, development, people, business, culture” and “a boost” to bilateral trading relations, Britain’s Press Association (PA) news agency reported.

However, Starmer ruled out a “youth mobility scheme” which would allow young Europeans to work visa-free in the UK and vice versa.

The two countries are also to develop an action plan to tackle illegal migration, PA reported.

The prime minister also expressed his condolences over the deadly knife attack in the western German city of Solingen on Friday. Starmer’s visit aims to give new impetus to German-British relations.

His conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak waited 18 months before making his inaugural visit to Berlin in April of this year.

At the time, Sunak and Scholz agreed on a joint declaration on deepening cooperation in the areas of security and defence. However, the relationship between the centre-left duo of Starmer and Scholz seems likely to be warmer.

The two centre-left politicians have already met in person twice since Starmer took office in early July: at the NATO summit in Washington and at the European Political Community Summit in England.

Britain left the European Union in 2020 but, like Germany, is a member of NATO, the G7 group of industrial democracies and the G20 group of the world’s biggest economic powers.