European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has heralded a post-Brexit ‘reset’ between Britain and the European Union (EU).Speaking to reporters at a Central London summit, she said the two factions have agreed a “historic” deal which will “make a real difference to people in the UK and across our union”.Speaking about a new youth mobility scheme, she said it will “allow the next generation once again to live and study in each other’s countries”.
00:00Thank you very much, Antonio, thank you for your words. But my dear, this is a historic moment because it is the first ever EU-UK summit and it is a success. And this is also thanks to your leadership.
00:15And I really want to thank you for the leadership because it's not only about the summit, a day where we are here now in London, but it's all these weeks and months of preparation to get to the excellent results that we have.
00:30We're turning a page. We're opening a new chapter in our unique relationship. This is the story of historical and natural partners standing side by side on the global stage, facing most of the same challenges, pursuing the same objectives, like-minded, sharing the same values.
00:52And thus we are looking for solutions that are beneficial for both our people and standing shoulder-by-shoulder when it comes to really getting to the solutions.
01:03I want to have a look at the common understanding, which is basically the roadmap that we have agreed on to follow now after this summit.
01:13First, we have concluded our security and defense partnership. This will boost our cooperation in security and defense initiatives. There are a lot of topics covered, for example, on the defense industry, but also military mobility, peace building, crisis management, or the countering of hybrid threats, just to make a few.
01:37And this is the first step towards UK participation in the defense investment program. We call it SAFE. It's 150 billion euros of loans for joint procurement, and this security and defense partnership opens the door towards the joint procurement.
02:00We develop a second step, but this joint will increase our readiness, will close military gaps that we have, and will increase, that's of most importance, our interoperability, when our armed forces are pulling on missions together.
02:21It will create new opportunities, of course, for our defense industries, and, as I said, open the option for stronger, more coordinated support, also for Ukraine.
02:34That's important, either through joint procurement of military capabilities that then are brought to Ukraine, or for direct investment in Ukraine's defense industry.
02:45This is against the backdrop that we stand united behind Ukraine's fight for survival, and that we're strongly committed to a full and unconditional ceasefire, leading to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
