EU-UK summit planned for July
The European Union and the UK will hold a summit on 22 July in Brussels, with a view to reviving their post-Brexit rapprochement. This will be the second summit since the UK left the EU, following one held in London in May 2025.
“Close EU–UK cooperation is essential for our shared European security, resilience, and prosperity,” European Council president Antonio Costa wrote on X, following a discussion with UK prime minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian, France.
“We are working closely together to make our upcoming second Summit in Brussels on 22 July a success.”
Britain officially left the EU in 2020, four years after a referendum that divided the country. The Starmer government came to power four years later, advocating a closer relationship with the EU but setting several red lines: no return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement.
The two sides have since been engaged in protracted negotiations over an arrangement designed to make it easier for young people to cross the Channel for extended periods. Tuition fees for European students at British universities are a particular stumbling block.
Discussions are also taking place on agreements relating to food safety and animal health, as well as the trading of emissions allowances and electricity.
Previously, the EU and the UK reached agreements on defence cooperation and the UK’s participation in the European student programme Erasmus+.
Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Evian, France, 16 June 2026 © PHOTO ISABEL INFANTES / POOL / AFP
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