PM meeting with President of the European Council: 12 December 2024

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer and the President of the European Council António Costa met in Downing Street this afternoon.

In their first meeting, the two leaders affirmed the intention to strengthen the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, agreeing on the vital importance of closer collaboration between like-minded partners at an increasingly volatile time for the world.

The President invited the Prime Minister to attend a session of the informal meeting of the EU leaders in Brussels on 3 February. The Prime Minister was pleased to accept the invitation and looked forward to discussing enhanced strategic co-operation with the EU, notably on defence.

The two leaders also discussed current geopolitical challenges. They reiterated their unwavering commitment to providing continued political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes and as intensely as needed.

They also discussed the situation and the latest developments in the Middle East. Turning to Syria, they agreed on the importance of ensuring a peaceful transition towards long-term political stability following the fall of Assad's brutal regime.

They reaffirmed that the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, are the foundation of relations between the UK and EU, and restated their joint commitment to the full and faithful implementation of those agreements.

They also looked ahead to the first EU-UK Summit in early 2025, agreeing this would provide an important opportunity to make further progress on key areas to deliver tangible benefits for the people of the UK and the EU.