European leaders pay tribute to Starmer as EU-UK summit is postponed

European leaders have paid tribute to Keir Starmer after he announced his resignation as the British prime minister, triggering the postponement of an upcoming EU-UK summit. The European Council president, António Costa, said: “For sure we need to postpone it, but we are reassessing the opportunity to hold this new summit … “My wish is ⁠that [Starmer’s] successor ​will give ​continuity on ​this path to ​reset ‌our relationship ​with ​the UK.” Soon after Starmer’s resignation speech at No 10, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen , tweeted: “It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years. European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.” The annual EU-UK summit was announced for 22 July only last week, after weeks of uncertainty and delay. With Andy Burnham hot favourite to be the next British prime minister and unlikely to face a contest, Starmer’s last outing on the world stage could be the Nato summit in Ankara on 7-8 July. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, thanked Starmer for “all our cooperation, your support, and the joint decisions that have helped make our Europe and our protection of life stronger”. …