Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he “dreams that Brexit will be replaced by ‘Breturn’”.
Tusk served as President of the European Council between 2014 and 2019, partially during Brexit negotiations.
During Starmer’s visit to Warsaw on January 17, he said he would like to see the UK change its mind over leaving the European Union and, although he admitted the prospect “may be an illusion”, he said it was something he still hoped to see become reality.
He reminisced about his time in Brussels saying: “I’m sure you will recall when we learned about the results of the Brexit referendum. I was head of the European Council … at that time. My first emotional reaction was to say: ‘I already miss you.'”
During Starmer’s visit Tusk also revealed that he had asked the European Council to hold an informal summit to which the British PM would be invited to attend.
“I hope that this will not only be a symbolic reopening [of close ties between the UK and EU] but also a very concrete meeting in terms of the closest possible co-operation between the UK and the EU.”
It was not the first time Tusk had commented on British affairs. During the negotiations between 2017 and 2019 over Brexit, he often posted on social about the UK’s strategy. One such involved a cake with cherries on top posted with the caption “but no cherry picking” apparently meaning, in his opinion, the EU would not give Britain a good deal.
Tusk had also attacked Brexit backers when he talked about “a special place in hell for those who promoted Brexit”.
Labour leader Starmer, who is facing an upsurge in the polls for the hard-right Reform party led by arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage, chose not to take Tusk up on his “Breturn” offer. Instead, he preferred to concentrate on security matters and Ukraine, which the PM is to visit on January 16.
Tusk and Starmer discussed a new bilateral agreement on defence and security, intended to enable the two countries to work more closely against Russian disinformation and hybrid threats.
They also discussed ways to tackle people-smuggling gangs, securing energy supplies and protecting infrastructure as well as deepening ties between the Polish and British defence industries.
A planned security and defence treaty with Poland, which is due to be signed later in the year, was intended to be “a key pillar” of a wider British defence strategy. That will follow similar recent agreements with France and Germany
The Polish PM also underlined a common standpoint with regards to the war in Ukraine.
“We share the same views with the UK on the situation in Ukraine and Russian aggression and have promised each other that we will co-operate very closely,” Tusk said.
