Remarks by Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Opening Plenary Session of the European Political Community

18 July 2024

Good morning. Good morning, everyone.

Friends, fellow Europeans, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to Britain and to the splendour of Blenheim Palace.

I hope you enjoyed the weather, the drive, and the architecture of this beautiful place.

Thank you so much for being here.

It is of course the birthplace of Winston Churchill, and we stand for the values that he embodies around the world: liberty and democracy, yes, of course, but also defiance and resolve in their defence.

And today, as a new storm gathers over our continent, we choose to meet it in that same spirit, and we choose to meet it together.

And that is the choice of the Government that I lead. Now, two weeks old.

We want to work with all of you to reset relationships, rediscover our common interest, and renew the bonds of trust and friendship that brighten the fabric of European life.

And the task is urgent because our security is on the line.

Every day, Ukraine fights to protect not just the Ukrainian people but the European people.

A continent where our belief in freedom, democracy and the rule of law was hard-won and that wants to live in peace.

So President Zelenskyy, in your struggle to uphold those values, we salute you once again.

Have no doubt: we will stand with you for as long as it takes.

Because I was struck by something that you said in fact last week during the NATO summit.

When you said Ukraine needs more air defence, and then you said used words: before the new school year starts, and that really struck me because returning to school after the summer break, that should be a moment of joy and excitement for children.

New uniforms, new exercise books, seeing how much their friends have grown over the summer holidays, and reuniting with friends. How could anyone consider that them a target?

So our first task here today is to confirm our steadfast support for Ukraine to unite once again behind those values that we cherish, and to say, we will face down aggression on this continent – together.

Because the threat from Russia reaches right across Europe.

Many of us have seen attacks on our own democracy.

People targeted on our streets.

Military planes entering our airspace.

Ships patrolling our coastlines.

And in Moldova and the Western Balkans, the threat is obviously even more acute.

So this is the moment for us all to do more.

And I’m proud of Britain’s role in maintaining European security.

Through NATO, through the Joint Expeditionary Force, and more.

We stand together.

We guard Europe’s frontiers.

And now we must find new, more ambitious ways of working together…

Firing up our industries.

Meeting, not just the military challenge, but the challenge to our economic, cyber and energy security as well.

I take a practical view of how the UK can meet this moment.

I’m not driven by ideology – but by what is best for my country.

And so we will strengthen our existing relationships, and we will build new ones.

This includes resetting our relationship with the EU.

Because I believe that the UK and the EU, working together as sovereign partners, are a powerful force for good across our continent, for peace, for security, for prosperity, for all our people.

We have shown this I think in the G7 where we are using Russian assets to ensure they pay for the devastation they have brought to Ukraine.

We’re placing unprecedented sanctions on Russia and reducing our collective dependence on Russian oil and gas.

And I think we should take pride in the steps our continent has taken on this.

But now we must see the job through.

We must use this moment to accelerate towards clean energy, support Ukraine to meet its energy needs ahead of winter and tackle the ships that are helping Russia to evade sanctions.

We know what we can achieve together.

But it’s also time that we bring this resolve to another challenge facing our continent: the vile trade of people smuggling.

Let’s be frank – “challenge” – is the wrong word.

It is now, I think, a crisis.

As we speak, as we gather here, a criminal empire is at work in every country represented here today.

Profiting off human misery and desperation.

Prepared to send infants, babies, pregnant mothers, innocent people to their deaths.

And last week, four more souls and actually, last night, another one, were lost in the waters of the English Channel – a chilling reminder of the human cost of this vile trade.

And this summit is an opportunity to set a new path on illegal migration, to transform the way that we work together on border security and law enforcement.

And to say, together: no more.

And in the UK our new Border Security Command will work in partnership with you.

We must combine our resources, share intelligence, share tactics, shut down the smuggling routes and smash the gangs.

Before I came into politics, I was the Director of Public Prosecutions in Britain, a job I held for five years.

And I saw the work that can be done across borders on issues like counter terrorism, sophisticated gangs working across our borders.

And we used those same techniques to take those gangs down to ensure the safety of citizens across Europe.

And so I for one simply do not accept and will never accept that we can’t do the same with the smuggling gangs.

That somehow, they are the only gangs that can operate across Europe with impunity.

I just never will accept that, having been involved myself in the taking down of terrorist gangs.

So we must do more, together.

We must also do more to tackle the problem, of course, at source, to recognise the root causes – we know what they are – conflict, climate change, extreme poverty.

The crisis we face is the fault of the gangs – no question.

But the decisions people take to leave their homes cannot be separated from these wider issues.

It is global inequality, and that deserves our attention as well.

So let me say something here very clearly.

We are resetting our approach here.

This Government will not commit taxpayer money to gimmicks; we are here to serve our country in the national interest in pursuit of solutions that will actually deliver results.

And more than that, we will approach this issue with humanity and with profound respect for international law.

And that’s why we scrapped the unworkable Rwanda scheme on day one.

And it’s why we will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.

Churchill himself was among the chief architects of the Convention.

It was built on the blood bond of 1945 and our shared sacrifice for freedom.

I… I myself first read about these principles of the Convention and international law in a law library in Leeds, well, 40 years ago now, and that inspired me in everything I have done since then, and I still draw strength from it and value from it every day.

Because they speak about the dignity of every human being, and that word “dignity” is there in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the most important words in it.

Dignity of every human being.

The very essence of what it is to be human.

And that is our legacy, and so the nations of Europe must lead again today.

Together, we have the opportunity to make the world safer, fairer and more prosperous.

So let’s use this moment to do more for Ukraine, defend our democracies, secure our energy supplies and tackle illegal immigration.

It is a pleasure today, on behalf of my country to extend a hand to all of you, to say that, under my leadership, Britain will be a friend and a partner ready to work with you.

Not part of the European Union, but very much a part of Europe.

Not focused on the differences between us, but on the values that we share.

United by our determination to defend them and certain about what we can achieve together.

And now I’d like to invite a true champion of European freedom to address the plenary.

Our friend, President Zelenskyy.

Slava Ukraini!

President –