The European Union and the United Kingdom have postponed their second post-Brexit summit, which had been due to take place in Brussels on July 22, after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation.
European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed the delay, telling reporters in Brussels that a deferral did not amount to scrapping the meeting altogether.
“The summit with UK is postponed. Postponed is not cancelled,” she said, adding that the two sides would look for a fresh date once circumstances allowed.
European Council President António Costa, who had announced the July date alongside Starmer at last week’s G7 summit in France, said the meeting would need to be put back. He expressed hope that Starmer’s successor would continue efforts to rebuild ties with the bloc.
The gathering was intended to advance a series of deals on emissions trading, agri-food checks, energy and youth mobility, part of Starmer’s “reset” of relations with Brussels. Talks between officials on those files were said to be continuing.
Starmer announced his departure on Monday, just before the 10th anniversary of the June 2016 referendum in which Britain voted to leave the EU. He set out a timetable that would see a successor installed by the time parliament returns from its summer recess on September 1.
That successor could arrive far sooner. Andy Burnham, who won a by-election in Makerfield, northwest England, last week and was sworn in as an MP hours before Starmer’s announcement, has confirmed he would stand and so far faces no challenger.
If no rival secures the nominations required to force a contest, Burnham could enter Downing Street around July 17, only days before the original summit date. The former Greater Manchester mayor is regarded as a supporter of closer relations with the EU.
Separately, the EU and the UK are expected to sign their long-negotiated agreement on Gibraltar in the coming weeks. Sources at the Spanish foreign ministry cited by Europa Press put the signing on July 13, ahead of the treaty’s provisional application from July 15.
The Gibraltar deal would remove physical barriers on people and goods crossing between Spain and the British overseas territory. Schengen border checks would instead be carried out at Gibraltar’s airport and port.
