▲ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
The surprise resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on June 22 (local time) has led to the postponement of the upcoming EU-UK summit scheduled for next month.
Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, announced during a press conference in Brussels on the same day that "the need has arisen to postpone the summit," adding that a new date is currently being reconsidered.
Costa expressed his hope that Starmer's successor would continue to move forward in a positive direction regarding the resetting of relations between the EU and the UK, just as his predecessor had.
With the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum falling on June 23, Prime Minister Starmer, European Council President Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had originally planned to hold their second summit in Brussels, Belgium, on July 22 to discuss ways to improve relations.
Since taking office in July 2024, Starmer has worked to resolve conflicts stemming from Brexit and improve ties with the EU. He had been pushing to announce agreements on various issues at next month's summit, including cooperation on food and animal safety standards, youth exchange programs, and the linking of carbon emissions trading systems (ETS).
Andy Burnham, a member of the House of Commons, is considered the frontrunner to succeed Starmer as the next British Prime Minister.
If there are no internal party rivals, it is expected that he could take office before July 22, the date originally set for the EU summit.
Starmer has proposed a schedule for electing the next party leader, which includes nominating candidates through the National Executive Committee (NEC) between July 9 and 16, and finalizing the new leader before the parliament reconvenes on September 1.
However, it is interpreted that both sides chose to postpone the summit because even if a new prime minister takes office before the scheduled date, it would be burdensome for both parties to have a new leader attend a summit of such significance for EU-UK relations after only a week in office.
Although Burnham is considered to have a pro-EU stance, AFP reported that he remains cautious regarding the increasingly frequent calls for the UK to rejoin the EU, stating that he does not wish to repeat the intense debate that has divided the country over the past decade.
Meanwhile, according to a recent poll conducted in the UK by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), 57% of respondents said that the UK's withdrawal from the EU was the "wrong decision," and three-quarters of respondents expressed the opinion that the UK should have a closer relationship with the EU.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.