September is the month of back to school for France. Many shops now switch to promoting school clothes. Also, the children get ready to attend the school after August holidays.
Sir Keir Stamer is also preparing himself for a busy political season. On Thursday the meeting was held between Keir Stamer and Macron. The agenda of the meeting is to discuss how to improve relations with the UK. Both France and the European Union want to get close to the United Kingdom. This came after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday. The real conversation with the European Union will start when schools open properly. Also, Starmer making a plan to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen soon
Starmer benefits from better relations started by his predecessor, Rishi Sunak, who eased tensions that were high under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Sébastien Maillard from the Institut Jacques Delors says Macron was tough during Brexit talks but didn’t like it. Despite improvements from Sunak, France can’t ignore the UK, a key G7 country.
Macron is excited to move past old issues. He was the first leader of France to call the Starmer right after the United Kingdom’s elections were announced. Also, he congratulated him even before Starmer was officially made prime minister. This clearly highlights the eagerness of Macron to take up the start in a new way.
Even though Sunak was the leader of the organizer team that organized the European Political Community (EPC) meeting at Blenheim Palace. Also, Starmer was one who hosted it. This was the time just after two weeks of becoming prime minister. This was one of the lucky opportunities for him and also he hosted and ran the meeting successfully. He also invited Macron to dinner. This invitation clearly highlights that he wants a strong relationship with him.
Macron also gave the tough time to Brexit and also defended the European Union in every perspective. He also began the EPC to ensure that Britain, the Balkans, and others must take part in the discussion regarding European security. This was the informal government that ended with no official agreement. The purpose of this meeting was to get British support under the previous government.
Some conservatives are still worried by thinking about the idea of another large European group. They even thought the name seemed old-fashioned, like something made by Robert Schuman, who helped create the idea of a united Europe after World War II.
Keir Starmer is also in the safe zone rather than the other leaders like Macron who tried their best but failed to stop the rise of far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
Macron is struggling to end the deadlock in France’s National Assembly, which is slowing down foreign investments.
The EU is watching closely to see if France can reduce its budget deficit to the required 3% by 2027. Macron’s weakened position makes it harder for him to push France’s interests in the EU. Recently, Starmer and Macron talked about issues like Ukraine but avoided discussing Brexit, hinting at better future relations.
There is a need to improve the relationship between the UK and the European Union. And it is also expected that soon this relation will improve. However, the importance of Brexit is also getting less due to the uncertainty around the US election and growing threats from China and Russia. Macron was happy to see his favourite person in Paris. According to him, he would prove the best partner for Europe rather than any other.
On the same day, Conservative candidate Tom Tugendhat, seen as moderate, suggested the UK might leave the European Convention on Human Rights, making many in Europe uneasy. A Labour prime minister would likely be more pro-European, unlike past Tory leaders who played up their anti-Europe stance.
Some in Paris didn’t want to engage with the UK until after the general election, doubting the legitimacy of leaders chosen only by party members. Starmer’s decision to bring the 1949 Treaty of London to the Blenheim summit felt like a very calculated move.
Starmer, who also has legal experience, utilized the Council of Europe’s founding document to fully support international law. However, people did not get much attention during his Paris visit. Macron doesn’t want to discuss any questions about his country’s issues like the lack of job opportunities and the arrest of the CEO of Telegram. For this reason, he cancelled the press conference.
