UK PM Starmer pledges 'ambitious' reset of relations with Europe during Berlin visit

The leaders of Germany and the United Kingdom announced plans on Wednesday to draw up a treaty meant to deepen the two nations' trade, defence and other ties, as new UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer moves ahead with plans for a “reset” of relations with the European Union.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he welcomes fellow centre-left leader Starmer's desire for a new beginning in relations with the EU, and “we want to take this outstretched hand”.

Starmer, who took office in early July after the previous Conservative government was trounced in an election, sent a signal by visiting Berlin early in his term — unlike predecessor Rishi Sunak, who took 18 months.

But his talk of starting anew with the EU has its limits. He has ruled out many of the major possible steps to closer ties and has been cool to the idea of a youth mobility agreement with the 27-nation bloc.

“I'm absolutely clear that we do want a reset ... with Europe, a reset with the EU,” Starmer said in Berlin.

However, “that does not mean reversing Brexit or reentering the single market or the customs union, but it does mean a closer relation on a number of fronts — including the economy, including defence, including exchanges, but we do not have plans for the youth mobility scheme.”

But four years after the UK left the EU, Starmer says he wants to rebuild ties strained by years of ill-tempered wrangling over Brexit terms.

He said that he hopes to conclude the bilateral agreement with Germany, which has Europe's biggest economy, by the end of this year.

“That will be ambitious, it will be wide-ranging, covering trade, the economy, defence and many other issues,” he told reporters. The two leaders are among Ukraine's biggest military backers and stressed their