What We're Watching

Keir Starmer “Bre-sets” UK’s relationship with Europe

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron welcome Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he arrives to attend a reception for heads of state and government at the Elysee Palace before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, in Paris, France August 28, 2024.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron welcome Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer as he arrives to attend a reception for heads of state and government at the Elysee Palace before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, in Paris, France August 28, 2024.
REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

The United Kingdom’s new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to “turn a corner on Brexit” ahead of his quick European tour this week. Taking a jab at his Conservative predecessors — who campaigned for and managed the country’s divorce from the European Union — he vowed to “fix the broken relationships left behind by the previous government.”

Starmer arrived in Berlin on Wednesday to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In a press conference, the leaders announced a plan for a new German-UK cooperation agreement modeled after a similar 2010 deal with France that deepens defense ties over the next 50 years. The new agreement will also target energy, science, technology, and migration coordination, as well as an increase in intelligence sharing. Both countries aim to sign the treaty by 2025.

Starmer does not plan to try to reverse the 2016 Brexit decision and has said Britain will not rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

Still, Scholz said Wednesday that he was “delighted” with the UK’s pivot back to Europe. “We want to grasp this outstretched hand,” he said.

After Berlin, Starmer headed to Paris for the Paralympics opening ceremony on Wednesday night and to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

More For You

U.S President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pose for a family photo with other representatives participating in the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 19, 2026.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Paraguay, Vietnam – to name only a few.

A poster featuring Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, is installed on a sign leading to the parking area of the Sandringham Estate in Wolferton, as pressure builds on him to give evidence after the U.S. Justice Department released more records tied to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in Norfolk, Britain, February 5, 2026.

REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

British police arrested former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor today over allegations that in 2010, when he was a UK trade envoy, he shared confidential government documents with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.