But buoyed by a largely positive domestic reception, Starmer has since the new year hinted that he wants to expand negotiations to take in more areas — and potentially bring the U.K. back into large areas of the EU single market through aligning with regulations.
“Brexit did deep damage to our economy, and the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore,” he told reporters.
“So in the coming weeks, we will announce a new summit with our EU partners, and I can tell you that at that summit, the U.K. will not just ratify existing commitments made at last year’s summit.
“We want to be more ambitious, closer economic cooperation, closer security cooperation, a partnership that recognizes our shared values, our shared interest and our shared future, a partnership for the dangerous world that we must navigate together, a world where this government will be guided at all times by the interests of the British people.”
No date has been set for the next U.K.-EU summit, the second such event under Starmer’s premiership. The first, in May 2025, took place at Lancaster House in London. The second is expected to take place in Brussels in the summer.