UK’s Starmer welcomes German chancellor to his country estate as he touts ‘reset’ with the EU

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to his country estate Sunday on the eve of seeking to improve relations with the European Union.

Starmer hosted Scholz at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence in Buckinghamshire 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of London, before the two go to Belgium to meet with E.U. chiefs Monday, where the U.K. leader is aiming for a relationship “reset”.

While ruling out rejoining the E.U. trade bloc five years after Brexit, Starmer said he wants to forge a closer relationship on defense, energy and trade.

“I think that is certainly in the U.K.’s best interest, I do believe it’s in the E.U.’s best interest, and already I hope that in the last seven months there’s been a manifest difference in approach, tone and relationship,” he said.

Starmer and Scholz discussed Ukraine and the Middle East, according to a Starmer spokesperson. The prime minister spoke of their common approach to “key issues and challenges,” including their shared commitment to Kyiv as the war with Russia enters its fourth year this month.

The two agreed that Russia’s invasion had emphasized the need to beef up and coordinate defense production across Ukraine, according to a readout of the meeting from a Starmer spokesperson. The U.K. and Germany signed a defense pact in October, described by officials as the first of its kind between two NATO member countries, to boost European security amid rising Russian aggression.

The British government’s strategic defense review later this year will include lessons learned in Ukraine and the need to outmaneuver Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hostile acts across the continent, Starmer said.

Starmer thanked Scholz for visiting in the middle of a difficult re-election campaign. Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats are lagging in the polls behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union and the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, with three weeks to go before the Feb. 23 vote.

“When I started as prime minister seven months ago now, I was determined to strengthen the relationship between our two countries — already very good, but I thought it could be stronger on a number of fronts,” said Starmer, leader of the center-left Labour Party. “And thanks to your leadership, I think we’ve made real progress.”

Scholz said the visit that included a walk around the grounds of the estate and a lunch was a “good sign of the very good relations between our two countries, and indeed between the two of us.”