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British PM Keir Starmer spoke about Ukraine and the closeness between the UK and EU, with the provision of spending and defence.
“It is true that Russia has made a huge strategic blunder in Ukraine, and that Russian casualties number well over a million,” Starmer began: “But even as war continues, Russia is rearming and reconstituting its armed forces and industrial base.
“Even in the event of a peace deal in Ukraine – which we are all working hard to achieve – Russia’s rearmament would likely only accelerate [and] the wider danger to Europe would not end there, it would increase; so we must respond to this threat in full,” the PM said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir continued: “We must build our hard power, because that is the currency of our age – we must be able to deter aggression and, yes, if necessary, we must be ready to fight, to do whatever it takes to protect our people, our values, and our way of life.”
Speaking of Europe and the economy, Sir Keir said: “We are no longer the Britain of the Brexit years… There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain – that is the lesson of history, and it remains today’s reality.”
Noting how the US remains an indispensable ally, Starmer continued: “Its contribution to European security over the past 80 years is unparalleled – and so is our gratitude, [but] at the same time, we recognise that things are changing.
“The US national security strategy makes clear that Europe must take preliminary responsibility for its own defence – that is the new normal,” Starmer said.
Sir Keir emphasised that Europe needed to rely less on the US: “Rather than pretending that we can simply replace all US capabilities, we should focus on diversifying and reducing certain dependencies – we should deliver generational investments, moving from overdependence to interdependence.”
Starmer also reached out to all NATO members, informing them that “our commitment to Article 5 is as profound as ever – and be in no doubt, if called on, the UK would come to your aid today.”
However, in terms of Russia, Europe is a sleeping giant: “Our economies dwarf Russia’s – by more than ten times over – we have enormous defence capabilities, yet too often, this adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
“Europe has more than 20 types of frigates and around 10 types of fighter jets – we have over 10 types of main battle tanks – meanwhile, the US has one – it is wildly inefficient,” Starmer pointed out.
In terms of security for Europe, Starmer said: “Today, I can announce that the UK will deploy our Carrier Strike Group to the North Atlantic and the High North this year, led by HMS Prince of Wales.
“It will operate alongside the United States, Canada, and other NATO allies, in a powerful demonstration of our commitment to Euro-Atlantic security.”
But the defence strengthening didn’t stop there for the British PM: “We are enhancing our nuclear cooperation with France – for decades, the United Kingdom has been the only nuclear power in Europe to commit its deterrent to the protection of all NATO members – but now, any adversary must know that in a crisis they could be confronted by our combined strength.”
In closing, Sir Keir said: “Deeper economic integration is in all our interests, so we must consider where we could move closer to the single market in other sectors as well, where that would work for both sides.”
