UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron held their first official talks on Thursday, with migration, Ukraine and relations between the UK and the EU as the main topics.
The meeting took place at Burnham’s office and residence on Downing Street. The day before, on Wednesday, the leaders, together with King Charles III, marked bilateral ties during a preview of the legendary Bayeux Tapestry in London. Burnham, who took office on July 20, and his wife Marie-France van Heel greeted the French leader and First Lady Brigitte Macron at the famous black door of No. 10 Downing Street.
Inside, Burnham told Macron he was looking forward to discussing the war in Ukraine, stopping the smuggling of migrants across the English Channel in small boats from France to England, and “strengthening relations between the UK and the EU”. Macron called the meeting a “very important moment” for relations between the two countries, adding they would also discuss “new initiatives” in the Middle East without providing details. He told Burnham: “I came with readiness and a desire to draw ever closer together.”
Macron became the first European Union leader received by Burnham at Downing Street, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited him in July. For Macron, the visit is significant as he approaches the final months of his presidential term, which is set to end in May 2027.
Cooperation after Brexit
Burnham seeks to build on his predecessor Keir Starmer’s efforts to foster closer cooperation with the European Union post‑Brexit to boost the UK’s sluggish economic growth. He said Britain should be “bolder” in engaging with the EU but has not agreed to abandon Starmer’s position of not rejoining the bloc’s single market or customs union or restoring the EU’s freedom of movement rules.
“I think, 10 years after Brexit, people here are tired of the lack of vision, people see that we need to work more closely together,” Burnham told reporters late on Wednesday. Macron said on Wednesday that Paris and London “do not always see things the same way” but “we respect each other, remain open to discussing everything, including advancing the reset of the UK’s relations with the European Union.”
Combating illegal migration
Downing Street said the leaders would also focus on countering the “new deployment of larger inflatable vessels” — bigger, more powerful boats used to smuggle illegal migrants to the southern coast of England. According to Downing Street, in the coming weeks a task force of 45 French officers will be deployed on beaches to counter such crossings.
The UK government said on Monday that this summer saw the lowest number of small boats carrying migrants crossing the Channel since 2019, citing the success of its deal with France to tighten migration controls. However, in a statement before the meeting, Downing Street quoted Burnham as insisting: “We cannot be complacent.” He added: “Smuggling gangs are constantly adapting their tactics, and the UK and France need to respond quickly.”
Support for Ukraine and cultural exchange
The British leader pledged to maintain the UK’s long‑standing support for Ukraine amid Russian aggression, making his first foreign trip to Kyiv last month. Macron and Starmer had a good relationship and played leading roles in the coalition of nations supporting Ukraine.
In a speech at the British Museum on Wednesday, Macron praised the UK’s sharing of information with Ukraine on components of the long‑range SCALP missile, the French version of the British Storm Shadow. The leaders, along with their wives, joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the museum, where they previewed the iconic Bayeux Tapestry ahead of its public opening next week.
“This shows what can be achieved through cooperation,” Burnham told Macron on Thursday, calling France’s loan of the nearly 1,000‑year‑old tapestry to Britain a “significant personal gesture of goodwill, trust and friendship.” Macron played a key role over nearly a decade in pushing for the tapestry’s transfer for the exhibition, seen as another step toward overcoming post‑Brexit tensions.
The 11th‑century work, which depicts the Norman Conquest of England by William the Conqueror, arrived in London in July for a sold‑out exhibition that will run until July 2027.
Source: RFI
