British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for Europe to reduce its dependence on the United States and strengthen UK-EU ties at the Munich Security Conference. Speaking to world leaders on Saturday, the Labour leader warned that turning inward, as Britain did during the Brexit years, would be a "surrender" of control in dangerous times.
Starmer's speech comes as questions mount over America's commitment to NATO under President Donald Trump. The US president's past threats to the alliance and criticism of European leaders have prompted urgent discussions about European defence autonomy. Around 50 world leaders, including Germany's Friedrich Merz, France's Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, gathered at the conference to address these security challenges.
Europe Must Take Control
The Prime Minister made clear that closer European cooperation is essential for British security. «We are not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore. Because we know that, in dangerous times, we would not take control by turning inward – we would surrender it. And I won't let that happen. There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain. That is the lesson of history – and it is today's reality too,» Starmer said.
He emphasized his vision does not call for US withdrawal but rather answers demands for greater burden sharing. «I'm talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy, that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full, and remakes the ties that have served us so well,» he added.
Defence Production and Industrial Base
Starmer outlined plans for closer UK-EU defence cooperation «to multiply our strengths and build a shared industrial base across Europe which can turbocharge our defence production.» He criticized Europe's fragmented approach to defence: «Europe is a sleeping giant. Our economies dwarf Russia's, 10 times over. We have huge defence capabilities. Yet, too often, all of this has added up to less than the sum of its parts. Across Europe, fragmented industrial planning and long, drawn out procurement mechanisms have led to gaps in some areas – and massive duplication in others.»
The Prime Minister's call comes as talks over the EU's 150 billion euro (£130 billion) rearmament fund, Safe, broke down at the end of last year. Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is nearing its four-year anniversary.
Attack on Political Extremes
Starmer sharply criticized both Reform UK and the Green Party as «the peddlers of easy answers on the extreme left and the extreme right.» He accused them of being «soft on Russia and weak on Nato – if not outright opposed.» «It's striking that the different ends of the spectrum share so much,» Starmer said. «The future they offer is one of division and then capitulation. The lamps would go out across Europe once again. But we will not let that happen.»
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the conference, which specifically focused on European defence and the future of transatlantic relations.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
