PM Burnham Pushes for Stronger UK-EU Relations Before Crucial 2024 Summit
UK Seeks Closer Collaboration with EU Ahead of Upcoming Summit
Burnham Urges Bolder Approach in Talks with European Council President
LONDON, Aug 24 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Andy Burnham told European Council President Antonio Costa that London should be bolder in pursuing closer ties with the European Union, with a UK-EU summit this year providing such opportunity, his office said on Monday.
Burnham met Costa late on Sunday while travelling to Kyiv to co-chair a meeting of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" in his first visit to Ukraine since becoming prime minister.
Focus on Defence and Security Cooperation
His office said Burnham told Costa that Britain should build on existing defence and security cooperation with European allies and seek closer collaboration across the relationship.
The British leader told Costa that Britain "had to be bolder in terms of getting closer to the bloc", a Downing Street spokeswoman said of the two leaders' talks.
"That included building on the close defence and security ties already forged between the UK and European allies to drive greater cooperation across all areas of the relationship."
Challenges in Strengthening UK-EU Ties
Britain has tried to improve its trading ties with the EU since it elected a Labour government in 2024, but progress has been slow, with frustrations emerging on both sides about what the former member should expect outside the main institutions.
Upcoming UK-EU Summit as a Platform for Progress
A spokeswoman for the British government said the two leaders agreed the UK-EU summit later this year would offer a good platform to continue that work.
Broader European Defence Discussions
Meeting with Luxembourg's Prime Minister
Burnham also met Luxembourg's prime minister, Luc Frieden, while travelling to Kyiv. They discussed different mechanisms for increasing defence spending, including the Canada-backed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank and the Multilateral Defence Mechanism launched by Britain, the Netherlands, Finland and Poland.
Complementary Defence Initiatives
Downing Street said the two leaders discussed how the two schemes could complement each other.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, editing by Elizabeth Piper)
