London 'disappointed' as UK-EU summit postponed after Starmer quits

LONDON, Jun 24: The UK's minister for European Union relations Tuesday said he was "disappointed" that a UK-EU summit on post-Brexit ties planned for July 22 had been delayed after Keir Starmer resigned as Britain's prime minister.

The second summit aimed at repairing Britain's fractured ties with its neighbouring bloc was due to take place between Starmer and EU top officials Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.

But after Starmer announced his decision to step down on Monday following months of domestic pressure, the European Commission confirmed the summit would be delayed.

Starmer inched the country back closer to the EU during his almost two years in office, but ruled out rejoining the customs union -- a thorny issue which would be seen as a reversal of the 2016 referendum in which the UK narrowly voted to leave the bloc.

Veteran Labour politician Andy Burnham, currently frontrunner to succeed Starmer as soon as next month, has said he wants to see Britain rejoin the union in his lifetime, while also trying to distance himself from the politically toxic topic.

Ten years since the knife-edge vote, businesses and voters are pessimistic about the payoffs.

Last May, the UK and EU reached a landmark deal on closer defence and trade ties which was seen as a reset after the UK's acrimonious exit from the bloc in 2020.

London and Brussels also reached an agreement for Britain to rejoin the bloc's popular Erasmus student exchange programme this year, starting in 2027.�"AFP