Ten years after the referendum that led to Brexit, Britain and the European Union must close ranks in an increasingly unstable world, their leaders said on Saturday.
A decade after the historic referendum that set Brexit in motion, the United Kingdom and the European Union are calling for a united front to combat global instability.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe and the UK must work together more closely on “security, on the economy… on defending our democracies.” She added, “Europe, and in particular the UK, should come closer together… 10 years on from Brexit, our futures are as bound as ever.”
British leader Keir Starmer echoed her. “We are not at a crossroads: The road ahead is straight and it is clear. We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of the age,” he said.
“We must be able to deter aggression and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight,” he said, calling for a building of “a shared industrial base across Europe which can turbocharge our defence production” and “multiply our strengths”.
On Friday NATO chief Mark Rutte said that “a strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever” and French President Emmanuel Macron said that “this is the right time for a strong Europe,” that would be “building its own architecture of security”.
Starmer has attempted to reset ties with the European Union since coming to office in 2024, four years after Britain exited the EU, and has also taken a leading role in coordinating European support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
However, talks for Britain to join the EU’s SAFE defence fund broke down last year. Starmer has said that he is open to joining a new version of SAFE, and is looking at other ways to work more closely with Europe on defence.
The Labour Party leader came to office in the wake of successive Conservative governments whose approach to negotiations to take Britain out of the EU sometimes strained relations with Brussels.
Starmer will say that “we are not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore”, according to the speech extracts, adding that to turn inward would surrender control of Britain’s security.
“There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain,” the extracts said.
Starmer’s office said Friday that the PM will tell the Munich Security Conference that Europe is “a sleeping giant” and must rely less on the United States for its defence.
“I’m talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full and remakes the ties that have served us so well,” the UK prime minister will say Saturday, according to excerpts released by Downing Street.
With inputs from agencies
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