The Development, on the Record
The record shows a calendar item swallowed by a political exit. When Keir Starmer announced his resignation as British prime minister on Monday, June 22, 2026, the announcement triggered the postponement of the annual EU-UK summit, which had been set for 22 July and unveiled late last week after weeks of delay and uncertainty. The European Council president, António Costa, put the decision plainly in his statement: “For sure we need to postpone it, but we are reassessing the opportunity to hold this new summit”. He added that his wish is to see Starmer’s successor carry the reset of relations with the UK forward, describing Starmer as a friend and saying the two sides had turned a new page together.
Tributes From Across the Continent
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, wrote on social media soon after the resignation speech: “It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine thanked Starmer for “all our cooperation, your support, and the joint decisions that have helped make our Europe and our protection of life stronger”. Kyiv had voiced frustration with British support early in the premiership, but the parting praise was warm all the same. Friedrich Merz’s spokesman in Berlin said the departing prime minister had always been “a reliable and close partner in foreign policy questions, particularly regarding Ukraine”. From Moscow came a cooler register: the Kremlin’s chief spokesperson judged that Starmer had “not done anything to distinguish himself on the issue of British-Russia relations”, adding that no figure on the British political scene was likely to chart a different course. Traditional allies outside the bloc softened the picture. Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s prime minister and a fellow centre-left leader, offered the assessment that “The United Kingdom is Norway’s close ally in Europe, and over the past two years our countries have grown even closer through important agreements.” Australia’s Anthony Albanese said he was thinking of a friend on “what must be a very tough day. Serving in public life is a tremendous privilege but politics can also be a harsh business.”
The Calendar That Remains
With Andy Burnham highly likely to take the premiership without a contest, Starmer’s final appearance on the world stage may prove to be the Nato gathering in Ankara scheduled for 7-8 July. He is expected in Berlin on Wednesday for an E5 meeting bringing together Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the UK to prepare for it. At the summit now in limbo, the two sides had hoped to sign agreements on youth mobility, a food and drink deal meant to ease border checks, and linked emissions trading systems.
What the Reset Actually Rested On
The backdrop explains the European anxiety. Post-referendum relations improved under Rishi Sunak, the last Conservative prime minister, who signed a Northern Ireland Brexit deal in 2023, and grew warmer still when Starmer won power in July 2024, though many EU officials regarded the government’s reset hopes as unrealistic. A security partnership was signed in May 2025, but the two sides never agreed on British entry into the EU’s €150bn (£130bn) Safe defence loans scheme. Micael Roth, Germany’s former Europe minister and Starmer’s counterpart in the Brexit negotiation years, told the Guardian: “We very much hoped for a more stable government.” He also noted that political troubles of the same kind were afflicting Germany, France and Spain. Donald Trump, for his part, told reporters Starmer was a lovely man who had really hurt himself over energy, immigration and his handling of Washington. With the successor unknown and the 22 July date under reassessment, Brussels now waits to see who will be across the table.
Sources
- European leaders pay tribute to Starmer as EU-UK summit is postponed | European Union | The Guardian
