The head of Portuguese diplomacy stated, after a meeting in London with his counterpart, David Lammy, that relations between both countries “are obviously excellent and need a relaunch.”
Political stability in the United Kingdom and the expected approval of the State Budget in Portugal create the conditions for “bilateral relations to flourish” between both countries, Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel stated this Wednesday.
The head of Portuguese diplomacy stated, after a meeting in London with his counterpart, David Lammy, that the Relations between both countries “are evidently excellent.” and that needs a post-Brexit relaunch.”
“Now, in this framework of British political stability, on the one hand, and also at the national level, once the Budget is guaranteed, all the conditions exist to make make these bilateral relations flourish“he added.
This afternoon’s meeting in the British capital was scheduled during the European Council of Foreign Ministers on October 14 in Brussels, in which David Lammy participated in an extraordinary way, since the United Kingdom was no longer part of the Union. European (EU) in 2020.
Rangel also met this Wednesday with the Secretary of State for the Constitution and Relations with the European Union, Nick Thomas-Symonds.
The work agenda included support for Ukraine, that is, how Portugal can collaborate with some British arms supply programsand the call for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire for the Gaza Strip.
Lammy and Rangel also condemned the attacks by the Israeli armed forces on the United Nations mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and spoke of the need to “deescalate” the conflict.
Regarding the EU’s relations with the United Kingdom, there was talk of the interest of a cooperation in the fields of defense and internal securityspecifically the fight against transnational criminal networks linked to terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking, and the promotion of trade.
“For our part, we talk a lot about the need to have student mobility programs again,” said the Portuguese minister, referring to the European Commission’s proposal for a Youth mobility plan for citizens between 18 and 30 years old..
So far, London has rejected this idea, in addition to rejecting a return to the customs unionthe single market or the free movement of people, but said he wanted to remove some barriers to trade with the EU.
Rangel highlighted that “the The United Kingdom is a friendly State and is always in Portuguese priorities“But he warned that any type of negotiation with the EU will have to be mutually beneficial and that the United Kingdom cannot simply select what interests it.
Source: Observadora
