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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk shake hands after a press conference in Warsaw on FridayCredit: Reuters
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Donald Tusk (R) welcomes the Prime Minister at the Chancellery of the Prime MinisterCredit: Getty
The Polish leader, who was president of the European Council in the years Britain exited the EU, said that for “obvious” reasons the pair talked on the “cooperation between Great Britain and the European Union”.
Tusk said: “I’m sure you will recall when we learned about the results of the Brexit referendum.
“I was head of the European Council at that time.”
“My first emotional reaction was to say: ‘I already miss you.’
“I remember our press briefings as if it was yesterday. I already miss you, that’s what I said.”
The Polish prime minister’s confession continued, adding that it wasn’t “just about emotions and sentiments,” but a “dream” of his to turn Brexit to “Breturn”.
He added: “Perhaps I’m labouring under an illusion. I’d rather be an optimist and harbour these dreams in my heart – sometimes they come true in politics.”
Sir Keir held the role of shadow Brexit secretary while Labour was in opposition and backed remain in 2016.
But the Prime Minister has consistently ruled out rejoining the customs union or single market.
On the other hand, he does look to deepen post-Brexit ties with Brussels.
Vlad plotting terror attacks against AIRLINES in world sabotage, warns Polish PM
Tusk made the statement after Sir Keir travelled to Poland to discuss a defence pact with the Nato ally, which the Polish leader said he hoped would be ratified this year.
The new treaty looks to protect Europe from prominent Russian aggression, handling people-smuggling gangs and tackling misinformation and cyber threats.
Sir Keir was questioned on whether the UK’s attendance at a defence summit in Poland earlier in the week meant he was in favour of “creating an army for Europe,” which he said he wasn’t.
The Prime Minister said: “The meeting that happened the other day is vitally important. That isn’t about creating armies.
“It’s about how we share our security concerns and build on what we’ve already got.”
As part of the defence pact, a whopping £4 billion partnership for new air defence systems in Poland has been agreed.
Sir Keir added: “The UK has secured £8bn of defence deals in Poland over the last three years alone, and we’re going further today, opening a new joint programme office in Bristol to deliver our £4bn partnership, to deliver the next generation of air defence systems to Poland.
“We share an unbreakable commitment to NATO and an unbreakable commitment to Ukraine.”
During his fleeting visit to Poland, Sir Keir also visited Auschwitz for the first time, which he said was “utterly harrowing”.
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Tusk speaks to the media at the Presidential Palace, the venue of the Baltic Sea NATO Allies SummitCredit: EPA
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Sir Keir Starmer during a press conference at the Chancellery of the Prime MinisterCredit: Getty
Here he laid a wreath ahead of the 80th anniversary of its liberation.
The Prime Minister said after visiting the former Nazi concentration camp: “Nothing could prepare me for the sheer horror of what I have seen in this place. It is utterly harrowing.
“The mounds of hair, the shoes, the suitcases, the names and details, everything that was so meticulously kept, except for human life.”
Sir Keir told The Sun in December that he could secure a better relationship with Brussels and sign a trade deal with Donald Trump.
Confronted with the EU’s fresh bid to bind Britain to their yoke once again, the PM said he was “alive and aware” to the danger to our post-Brexit future.
But he refused to rule out closer alignment to the bloc in return for softening of trade barriers ahead of formal talks next year.
Yet Sir Keir tried to bat away major fears that seeking closer ties with the EU would scupper any chance of a Brexit trade deal with the less-regulated United States — as well as damaging those already inked like with Australia and Japan.
In a direct plea to Sun readers to trust him, he insisted everyone would be better off – and even that public services would improve – if he was given the chance to “reset” relations with the continent as well as open up new avenues of trade with America.
And he rejected accusations he is on the cusp of “betraying Brexit”, instead saying he would follow the example of Sir Winston Churchill and try ride both horses.
But after leaked European Commission negotiation documents revealed they would demand eye-watering concessions from the UK for a new security pact, the tight lipped premier refused to rule out putting some elements of our sovereignty back on the table.
Despite insisting he would not rejoin the bloc, he left a migration deal in the offing and opened the door to following rulings from the EU court.
Speaking on board of HMS Iron Duke on a visit to the Baltic, the PM said: “We’ve been really clear from the get go that this is not about re entry to the EU, it’s not about going back to the old rules, the single market, the Customs Union, freedom of movement, whatever.
“But within that we do want to reset — I want to make sure that we get a better deal for people, for your readers, so they feel better off, they get better public services.”
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Keir Starmer (L) and Poland’s Prime Minister, Donald Tusk speak during a press conferenceCredit: Getty
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Publish date : 2025-01-18 01:33:00
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