Nato’s first secretary general once said the alliance’s job was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down. The European Political Community (EPC)’s purpose, as one European diplomat quipped to me this week, is less ambitious: to keep post-Brexit Britain in touch with the continent. On 18 July, 14 days into his government, Keir Starmer was happy to oblige. He hosted the EPC, which brought together more than 45 European leaders, at Blenheim Palace, the country pile of the dukes of Marlborough in rural Oxfordshire.
This was a gift for the new Prime Minister. At the Nato summit in Washington DC last week, he got an audience in the Oval Office. This week on a palatial stage, he sought to “reset” relations with Europe. Much as he wants to restore “stability” at home, Starmer has promised a return to normality abroad. He talks a lot about tone. He wants it to be mature, consensual and professional. The plan was to affirm support for Ukraine and get the Prime Minister on friendly terms with the Europeans. Only then, the thinking goes, can issues such as illegal migration be dealt with. After years of unease over Brexit, such niceties are judged essential.
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