Tag: 2024

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 18 July 2024.

On 18 July 2024, at the fourth meeting of the European Political Community in the UK, the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob acknowledged the importance of longstanding and multi-faceted relations between the UK and Slovenia. They emphasised positive developments in many areas of cooperation in over three decades of relations between two like-minded partners who share a mutual vision on a broad range of international issues.

The Prime Ministers acknowledged the high level of strategic and operational law enforcement cooperation between the UK and Slovenia. In view of the continuously changing nature of all forms of crime, they declared their commitment to develop further law-enforcement cooperation and to work together to fight organised criminal groups. They further welcomed greater UK/EU cooperation to tackle organised immigration crime and irregular migration.

Building on the 2022 United Kingdom and Slovenia Joint Statement of Intent, which describes our close cooperation in the areas of foreign and security policy, economic cooperation and science, education and culture, they affirmed the importance of a shared approach to preventing and fighting terrorism, serious and organised crime, including irregular  migration, and other cross-border crime. They agreed that the UK and Slovenia will  work together to fight organised crime by:

a) Sharing strategic level analysis and expertise through regular information exchanges to analyse emerging risks and share methods and techniques to mitigate them;

b) Strengthening real time law enforcement – to – law enforcement information sharing, including with prosecutors, through new and existing communication channels to prevent, disrupt and address cross-border threats;

c) Jointly identifying and working together to close the gaps that organised criminal groups can exploit;

d) Fostering effective cooperation in justice matters between the UK and Slovenia.

The Prime Ministers agreed to instruct their respective senior officials to take forward the agreed initiatives to enhance our law enforcement cooperation.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 18 July 2024.

President Zelenskyy will be hosted by the Prime Minister at an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet tomorrow morning, as the UK spearheads a major initiative to crack down on Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’.

The Ukrainian leader, who will be the first official visitor to Downing Street during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tenure, is expected to meet and brief the new Cabinet about the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, and the need to ramp up Europe’s defence industrial base to outpace the Russian threat. The last foreign leader to address the Cabinet in person was President Clinton in 1997.

The meeting comes after the launch of a ‘Call to Action’ to disrupt the Russian fleet – which is enabling Russia to evade international sanctions – at the European Political Community summit today.

Spearheaded by the UK, 44 European countries plus the European Union have agreed to work together to tackle the use of illegitimate vessels, which also pose significant security and environmental threats to European waterways.

The shadow fleet is made up of around 600 vessels and represents approximately 10% of the global “wet cargo” fleet. It carries approximately 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, generating significant funds to fuel Russia’s war machine.

Some of the ships are also alleged to double as Russian listening stations, while others are believed to be transporting weaponry to Russia.

The Prime Minister is expected to tell President Zelenskyy tomorrow that the UK will go further in the coming months to place a greater stranglehold on Putin’s war machine.

The two leaders are also expected to agree a Defence Export Support Treaty, which will be signed by defence ministers, to fire up both the UK’s and Ukraine’s defence industrial bases and increase military hardware and weaponry production.

The treaty will enable Ukraine to draw on £3.5 billion of export finance, to support its armed forces. It will also allow Ukrainian and UK defence companies to invest in further military capabilities and continue to rapidly innovate on new and novel military hardware.

The boost follows the opening of a major UK repair and overhaul facility in Ukraine to help sustain the war effort. BAE Systems opened the facility to allow Ukraine to return overhauled land vehicles back to the front line quicker.

The export finance is in addition to the £3 billion a year of UK support, announced by the Prime Minister at NATO, to support Ukraine’s defence for as long as it takes.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

Ukraine is, and always will be, at the heart of this government’s agenda and so it is only fitting that President Zelenskyy will make a historic address to my Cabinet.

Russia’s incremental gains on the battlefield are nothing compared with the collective international support for Ukraine, or the strength of ties between our people.

And alongside our European partners, we have sent a clear message to those enabling Putin’s attempts to evade sanctions: we will not allow Russia’s shadow fleet, and the dirty money it generates, to flow freely through European waters and put our security at risk.

The UK has also sanctioned a host of oil tankers today, which transport Russian oil. Among the new ships targeted are the ROCKY RUNNER (IMO 9288899), which sought to escape previous UK action by changing its operator.

This follows after UK action last month that halted tankers collectively responsible for transporting approximately 13 million barrels of Russian crude and oil products since January 2023, worth approximately $930 million.

The ‘shadow fleet’, also known as the ‘dark fleet’, poses serious maritime security and environmental risks. The vessels are often old and unsafe, and engage in dangerous and deceptive shipping practices, such as turning off location tracking systems, which flouts international maritime standards, and increases the likelihood of catastrophic incidents.

EPC states govern some of the world’s busiest and most important waterways, and dozens of incidents are known to have already taken place, such as onboard fires, engine failures, oil spills and collisions, and many of the vessels lack the appropriate insurance.

The UK has already taken robust action to restrict Russian revenues, including implementing the most severe package of sanctions ever imposed on a major economy – sanctioning more than 2,000 individuals and entities since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including 29 banks with global assets worth £1 trillion, more than 131 oligarchs with a combined net worth of more than £147 billion at the time of the invasion, and more than £20 billion worth of UK-Russia bilateral trade.

Action to disrupt and deter the shadow fleet comes after the UK contributed £40 million to NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine last week, ensuring Ukraine can access vital assistance for counter drone protection, demining of recaptured land and the medical rehabilitation of its injured military personnel. That followed the UK-administered International Fund for Ukraine placing new orders, worth £300 million, for 120,000 rounds of 152mm Soviet-era ammunition to bolster Ukraine’s defences against Russia.

The leaders are also expected to discuss the conclusion of UK – Ukraine negotiations to provide £181 million of support to Energoatom for the supply of nuclear fuel from Urenco.

Notes to Editors

List of ship specifications:

• ROCKY RUNNER (IMO 9288899)
• DYNAMIK TRADER (IMO 9286657)
• FIGHTER TWO (IMO 9296391)
• SCF AMUR (IMO 9333436)
• SCF PECHORA (IMO 9333424)
• ZALIV AMURSKIY (IMO 9354313)
• NS LOTUS (IMO 9339337)
• NS COMMANDER (IMO 9306794)
• ADYGEYA (IMO 9292204)
• KOROLEV PROSPECT (IMO 9826902)
• PRIMORSKY PROSPECT (IMO 9511533)

Note on ship specification:

Ships specified under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 are prohibited from entering a port in the UK, may be given a movement or a port entry direction, can be detained, and will be refused permission to register on the UK Ship Register or have its existing registration terminated. In addition, the Oil Price Cap exception is not applicable to services in relation to specified ships, or to the supply or delivery of Russian oil or oil products in specified ships. The Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation has published guidance on the Russian Oil Services ban. Limited exceptions apply and licences may be granted for specified ships, as set out in Part 7 of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 17 July 2024.

Border Security will be at the heart of the Government’s reset with Europe, the Prime Minister will tell world leaders at a major European summit tomorrow [Thursday 18 July].

The Prime Minister is set to tell the meeting of the European Political Community that he believes the magnitude of compounding challenges facing Europe cannot be solved alone, and that countries must work collectively to deliver solutions that rebalance the equation.

That will start with the UK taking a more active and greater convening role on the world stage, to strike genuine partnerships that have impact on people’s lives, he will say.

He will add that the UK’s reset on the global stage will be rooted in upholding democratic values and international law and ensuring the economic and financial security of working people.

Setting out his first steps to improve the livelihoods of hardworking people, the Prime Minister will announce the redeployment of more than 100 Home Office staff from the Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) and redeployment of them to a new rapid returns unit to take control of our borders.

The Prime Minister is also pledging to help lead the Europe-wide effort to combat organised immigration crime, and the people smuggling gangs trading in human lives, in co-operation with Europol, Frontex, and individual member states.

Irregular migration is a continent-wide problem, with more than 380,000 people believed to have entered the EU through irregular routes – an increase of 17% on the previous year. Around 41% of those arrivals are believed to have come in small boats across the Central Mediterranean, 26% on land through the Balkans, and 16% coming across the Eastern Mediterranean.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

We cannot let the challenges of the recent past define our relationships of the future. That is why European security will be at the forefront of this government’s foreign and defence priorities, and why I am focused on seizing this moment to renew our relationship with Europe.

The EPC will fire the starting gun on this government’s new approach to Europe, one that will not just benefit us now, but for generations to come, from dismantling the people smuggling webs trafficking people across Europe, to standing up to Putin’s barbaric actions in Ukraine and destabilising activity across Europe.

My government was elected with a mandate for change. I asked the British people to judge me by my actions, not words. This meeting of European leaders is an opportunity to push on and begin delivering on the people’s priorities. We will only be able to secure our borders, drive economic growth and defend our democracies if we work together.

Asylum decisions will be accelerated and, under the new fast-tracked system in the returns and enforcement unit, we will prioritise those who have no right to be in the UK and the greatest chance of being returned.

It comes after the government announced a Border Security Bill in the King’s Speech to tackle the criminal smuggling gangs, delivering on a key manifesto pledge. It will give the new Border Security Command counter terrorism-style powers to disrupt organised immigration crime and ensure smugglers can be prosecuted for preparatory offences such as supplying materials to facilitate organised immigration crime.

The new powers will build on the success of similar robust measures to counter terrorism and will include strengthening powers for law enforcement officers to investigate involvement in organised immigration crime.

The Home Secretary has already delivered a 50% uplift in NCA officers to be based in Europol with immediate effect and work is underway to further deepen our partnerships with Europol and its European Migrant Smuggling Centre.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Dangerous small boat crossings are undermining our border security and putting lives at risk. Criminal smuggling gangs are making millions out of small boat crossings.

We will work right across Europe to tackle this problem at source, going after those profiting from this awful trade and bringing them to justice.

The new Border Security Command will be a major step change in UK enforcement efforts to tackle organised immigration crime, drawing on substantial resource to work across Europe and beyond to disrupt trafficking networks and deliver justice.

At the same time, work is underway to transform the UK’s asylum system and accelerate decision-making, with a new returns and enforcement unit being set up in the Home Office to fast-track the removal of those with no right to be in the UK.

The EPC is the only pan European meeting of leaders, including the heads of the EU institutions, and for the first time at this EPC the leaders of NATO, the Council of Europe and the OSCE. The only European governments not invited are Russia and Belarus.

As well as focusing on the shared challenge of migration, the EPC will also convene leaders to discuss defending democracy and energy security through three working groups. The Prime Minister will attend the migration working group, alongside Italy, Albania, Germany, Malta, Denmark, Hungary, The Netherlands and Slovakia.

The Prime Minister is expected to host a number of bilaterals with key European leaders tomorrow, including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He is also expected to attend a meeting of the Moldova Group to underline Moldova’s sovereignty and democracy in the face of Russian interference.

Blenheim Palace is the birthplace of Churchill who stood up to a previous generation of aggression on European soil and was the inspiration for the Council of Europe which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. The founding Treaty of London will be on show as the UK returns to its rightful place at the centre of European affairs.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 17 July 2024.

Following their meeting at Chequers on 17 July 2024, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach issued the following joint statement.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Taoiseach Simon Harris discussed close relations between the United Kingdom and Ireland and agreed that the time was right for a reset of the partnership.

They noted that the ties which bind both countries span geography and history, family and business, politics and culture, and agreed to work together over the coming weeks to put in place arrangements to support, encourage and strengthen all aspects of relations.

As a first step towards rebuilding this unique partnership, the Prime Minister and Taoiseach committed to Annual Summits at which they will take stock of joint work to deepen and reinvigorate cooperation.

They discussed the Good Friday Agreement as co-guarantors and their shared commitment to its principles and institutions, and to furthering prosperity and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. They discussed legacy issues, working to support all communities and victims in Northern Ireland.

Their discussions also covered global issues including support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. They both agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and urgent action to address the humanitarian crisis. The Taoiseach welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment to closer cooperation with the European Union.

The Prime Minister and Taoiseach agreed to meet again in Dublin on 7 September.