European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ursula von der Leyen pledged to be a strong leader for Europe in a time of crisis and polarization as she made her final leadership pitch on July 18 in a speech to lawmakers at the European Parliament ahead of a vote on whether to grant her a second five-year term as president of the European Union’s executive commission.

The secret ballot at the 720-seat parliament comes hot on the heels of strong gains by the far right in last month’s election for the European Parliament.

“I will never let the extreme polarization of our societies become accepted. I will never accept that demagogues and extremists destroy our European way of life. And I stand here today ready to lead the fight with all the Democratic forces in this house,” Ms. von der Leyen said.

If a majority of the lawmakers reject her candidacy, it would leave leaders of the 27-nation bloc scrambling to find a replacement as Europe grapples with crises ranging from the war in Ukraine to climate change.

In her speech to the parliament, von der Leyen said: “Europe’s destiny hinges on what we do next.” Over the past five years, von der Leyen has steered the bloc through a series of crises, including Britain’s exit from the EU, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has also pushed a Green Deal aiming to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050.

Ms. Von der Leyen’s election came as newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was welcoming some 45 heads of government to discuss migration, energy security and the threat from Russia as he seeks to restore relations between the U.K. and its European neighbors.

The leaders signed off on the conservative German von der Leyen at a summit meeting late last month. The 65-year-old von der Leyen’s bid was boosted when the European People’s Party, which includes Ms. von der Leyen’s Christian Democratic Union, remained the largest group at the EU Parliament after the elections.

But her reelection is not a foregone conclusion as some lawmakers within her own centre-right European People’s Party could still vote against her. She needs a straight majority of 361 votes to secure a second term. The German politician has been praised for her leading role during the coronavirus crisis, when the EU bought vaccines collectively for its citizens. But she also found herself receiving sharp criticism for the opacity of the negotiations with vaccine makers.

The EU general court ruled Wednesday that the commission did not allow the public enough access to information about COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreements it secured with pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic.

Following the elections for EU Parliament, European Union leaders agreed on the officials who will hold the key positions in the world’s biggest trading bloc in the coming years for issues ranging from antitrust investigations to foreign policy. At the side of Ms. von der Leyen will be two new faces: Antonio Costa of Portugal as European Council president and Estonia’s Kaja Kallas as the top diplomat of the world’s largest trading bloc.

While Costa’s nomination only needed the leaders’ approval, Kallas will also need to be approved by European lawmakers later this year. The Estonian prime minister is a staunch supporter of Ukraine and a fierce critic of Russia within the European Union and NATO.

Britain’s new Labour government has said it will explore how to effectively regulate artificial intelligence models, but stopped short of proposing any specific laws.

King Charles set out newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s legislative agenda in a speech on Wednesday to open the new session of parliament. It included more than 35 new bills covering everything from housing to cyber security measures.

The government said it would seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop “the most powerful artificial intelligence models.”

The country’s last prime minister Rishi Sunak had sought to position Britain as a world leader in AI safety, bringing world leaders and company executives together last November for a summit at Bletchley Park to discuss the issue.

He also oversaw the launch of the world’s first AI Safety Institute, which has focused on the capabilities of “frontier” AI models, such as those behind OpenAI’s highly successful ChatGPT chatbot.

“AI labs will be collectively breathing a sigh of relief at the government’s decision not to rush ahead with frontier model regulation,” said Nathan Benaich, founding partner of AI-focused investment group Air Street Capital.

Under Sunak, the government avoided introducing targeted AI regulation, opting instead to split responsibility for scrutinising the technology between various regulators.

Starmer has promised to introduce new laws on AI, but his government is taking a careful approach to rolling them out.

“The UK’s cautious, sector-based approach to AI regulation remains a crucial competitive advantage versus the EU, and any moves to change this regime should only be taken with the utmost caution,” Benaich said.

But some AI experts say the rapid rollout of AI tools over the past 18 months only makes the need for new legislation more urgent.

Gaia Marcus, director of the Ada Lovelace Institute, said the government should bring forward a bill as soon as possible.

“These systems are already being integrated into our daily lives, our public services and our economy, bringing benefits and opportunity, but also posing a range of risks to people and society,” she said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

George Robertson.
| Photo Credit: AP

Former NATO leader George Robertson will lead a review of Britain’s military strategy to counter what he calls the “deadly quartet” of China, Iran, Russia and North Korea.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the strategic defence review on July 16 as one of his first major acts after taking office on July 5. Mr. Starmer who leads a center-left Labour Party government, has promised to end the shrinking of the U.K.’s military seen during 14 years of Conservative Party rule.

Mr. Starmer also says he will increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP from its current level of about 2.3% but has not set a deadline. He said spending would be “responsibly increased” to bolster Britain’s “hollowed-out armed forces.”

The Ministry of Defence said the review would aim to strengthen U.K. homeland security, bolster Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and “modernize and maintain” Britain’s nuclear arsenal.

Robertson, a former British defence secretary — who was NATO Secretary-General between 1999 and 2003 — will be assisted by ex-White House adviser Fiona Hill and Gen. Richard Barrons, a former director of operations for the U.K. armed forces.

Mr. Robertson told reporters that the U.K. and its NATO allies were “confronted by a deadly quartet of nations, increasingly working together,” referring to Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China.

At a summit in Washington last week, the 32-nation Western military alliance called China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, its most serious rebuke yet against Beijing. China insists that it does not provide military aid to Russia.

The review is scheduled to issue its report in the first half of 2025 and will help set Britain’s defence policy for the next decade.

Britain’s King Charles with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer will set out his first package of proposed laws on July 17, fleshing out how he will honour his election-winning pledge to rebuild the country after years of weak economic growth and political turmoil.

In a grand ceremony to mark the opening of the new Parliament, King Charles will read out the laws which the government wants the House of Commons to approve first after Keir Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party won a commanding majority in this month’s national election.

The package of more than 35 Bills will focus on growing the economy, including reforms to make it easier to build homes and speed up the delivery of major infrastructure projects, improving transport, and creating more jobs.

“Now is the time to take the brakes off Britain,” Mr. Starmer said in a statement. “I am determined to create wealth for people up and down the country. It is the only way our country can progress.”

The King’s Speech, which is written by the government, will be read out by the monarch in Parliament from 10.30 GMT in a ceremony full of pomp and pageantry.

Mr. Starmer won one of the largest Parliamentary majorities in modern British history on July 4, making him the most powerful national leader since former Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he faces a number of daunting challenges, including improving struggling public services with little room for more spending.

The speech, and a raft of information published by the government alongside it, is expected to stick closely to the promises Labour made during the election campaign, while giving a clearer picture of Mr. Starmer’s immediate priorities.

Plans to renationalise passenger rail network

According to Downing Street, the government will announce on Thursday legislation to “speed up and streamline the planning process” to help address Britain’s acute housing shortage and the long delays that dog many infrastructure projects.

The government will also set out plans to gradually renationalise the passenger rail network and set affordable fares to draw people back on to trains. The plan would shut private companies out of running passenger trains by folding each operator into state control when their contracts to run trains expire.

This decision would mostly reverse the privatisation of the railways conducted in the 1990s by the then-Conservative government.

The government will announce legislation to devolve more powers to local communities after Mr. Starmer used his first week in power to meet mayors of major cities and representatives from the devolved nations of the United Kingdom.

Washington:

New Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised Wednesday to keep up Britain’s steadfast support for Ukraine and gave his blessing for strikes inside Russia with British missiles as he made his international debut at a NATO summit in Washington.

Starmer’s unstinting message of continuity on Ukraine comes as questions grow over Kyiv’s most vital partner, the United States, where presidential contender Donald Trump has mused about cutting a quick deal with Russia.

Days after his Labour Party swept elections and threw out the Conservatives in power for 14 years, Starmer said he had a “very good” meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of NATO’s 75th anniversary summit.

“I made it absolutely clear that as far as the UK is concerned, the change of government makes no difference to the support that we will provide,” Starmer told reporters.

“We’d been united on this when we were in opposition, and it was really important to me to be able to affirm that face to face at the meeting,” said Starmer, who already spoke to Zelensky by telephone after entering Downing Street.

On his flight to Washington, Starmer said that decisions on the use of British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles were for the Ukrainian armed forces to make.

UK military aid is “for defensive purposes but it is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes,” he said.

Britain under three Conservative prime ministers has been among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in the war, taking the lead in pushing for more advanced military systems and looser restrictions on Kyiv.

US President Joe Biden, who has strongly backed Ukraine but has been careful not to start a direct conflict with Russia, recently made a similar move by letting Ukraine strike Russian offensive positions just across the border with US weapons.

Zelensky hailed the decision on the Storm Shadow missiles, writing on Telegram, “Thank you for your continued support of Ukraine and our people!”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Russia will take “appropriate measures” in response to Starmer’s decision.

“If it is true, it is certainly another absolutely irresponsible step towards fueling tensions and seriously escalating the situation,” Peskov told reporters.

– ‘Clear-eyed’ on Russia –

Starmer will meet later with Biden at the White House, and spoke with other Western leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron.

Starmer has taken Labour on a more centrist path than his leftist predecessor and, along with his foreign and defense secretaries, all noted in Washington that Britain helped found NATO in 1949 under Labour prime minister Clement Atlee.

Starmer said he hoped the NATO summit would send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the alliance is “bigger now than it’s ever been, more united than it’s ever been, and absolutely clear-eyed about the threat of Russian aggression.”

A NATO summit in Britain in 2014 set a goal of each ally contributing at least two percent of GDP to defense, a long-running demand of the United States.

Only the United States, Britain and Greece then met the target but since the invasion of Ukraine the number has gone up to 23 members of the 32-nation alliance.

Britain’s new defense secretary, John Healey, called for NATO to consider moving toward a 2.5 percent goal.

The growing threats around the world suggest that “all NATO nations are going to need to do more than simply two percent,” Healey told reporters.

He said, whatever the result of the US election, Washington’s priorities are “increasingly going to shift to the Indo-Pacific.”

“European nations in NATO must do more of the heavy lifting,” Healey said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

 U.S. President Joe Biden will hold his first face-to-face talks with Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Wednesday, the White House said on Monday.

Biden also will host an event on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the NATO summit, which is taking place this week in Washington, national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Biden plans to “underscore the importance of continuing to strengthen the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom” in his meeting with Starmer, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

She said the two leaders would have the opportunity to discuss U.S.-UK cooperation across a range of issues from Ukraine to the Israel-Gaza war, and ensuring that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons, as well as confronting Iranian-backed Houthi threats to commercial shipping.

The leaders also will discuss furthering cooperation in areas such as protecting advanced technologies and developing climate and clean energy solutions.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(This article is part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)

For many across the world, the poll outcomes of the United Kingdom, Iran, and France herald some relief and hope, as they broadly reflect a setback for conservative parties and right-wing forces.

After 14 years in power, the Tories were finally voted out, while newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to “begin the work of change”. Our London-based correspondent Sriram Lakshman tracked the election and its outcome closely. Notably, five independent pro-Palestine candidates, including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, won in the U.K.’s general elections, in the wake of Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, which many voters deemed a key poll issue.

While the results have been welcomed by many, it is also important to be mindful of the remarkable performance of ultra-right wing leader Nigel Farage, who won after losing seven times, and his party, Reform UK, that won more than 14% of the vote, albeit only four seats. As The Hindu editorial observed, this will be a worry in the context of the party’s openly xenophobic rhetoric against immigrants. It also brings to the fore the challenge in sustaining the new regimes amid the political and economic crises facing the world.

Wasting no time settling in, Mr. Starmer spent his first few hours in the office holding phone calls with U.K. allies and partners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Discussing the Free Trade Agreement, the Prime Minister said he stood ready to conclude a deal that worked for both sides,” Downing Street said, describing the India-UK relationship as “strong and respectful”.

Meanwhile, in Iran, reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won the presidential runoff election, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili. A protege of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, the surgeon-turned-politician assumes the presidency at a time when the Islamic Republic is witnessing social tensions and economic woes at home and heightened geopolitical risks abroad. His supporters want reform, but the establishment wants the status quo. Mr. Pezeshkian’s challenge is to do what even his mentor, Mohammad Khatami, failed to do: bring in incremental reforms at home, steady the economy, and stabilise Iran’s ties abroad, writes Stanly Johny in this profile of the new President.

The victory of Mr. Pezeshkian, a reformist who opposes moral policing of women and calls for engagement rather than confrontation with the West shows that the Islamic Republic, plagued by economic woes and social tensions, is still capable of springing a surprise. The rest of the world must do more to engage with reformists in Iran, The Hindu’s editorial on the poll outcome said.

As our newsletter reaches you today, all eyes are also on France, where the left is emerging as the biggest group in the new parliament but has yet to even agree on a figure who it would want to be the new Prime Minister.

How will these poll outcomes impact India? Our Diplomatic Affairs Editor Suhasini Haidar presents a detailed overview in her latest episode of Worldview. Watch here.

In the neighbourhood:

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Sabry Ali Sabry has said Colombo would lift the ban on foreign research vessels beginning next year. The ban was imposed in January 2024, after India repeatedly voiced concern about Chinese research vessels calling at Sri Lankan ports. Our report.

Reflecting the tricky India-China balancing act that governments in our region are forced to pursue, a leading member of the Bangladesh government has said India is a time-tested political friend of Bangladesh, and China is a friend necessary for Bangladesh to attain its developmental goals.

Meanwhile, days ahead of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to China, India’s envoy to Bangladesh Pranay Verma has identified ‘energy connectivity’ as a key pillar of the “transformative changes” that are shaping the India-Bangladesh relationship.

Should India review its Myanmar policy in view of the humanitarian crisis? Kallol Bhattacherjee spoke to former diplomat Rajiv Bhatia and human rights lawyer Nandita Haksar

Top 5 stories we are reading this week

The Labour Party’s election manifesto for the recent polls also committed to clinching the deal. File.
| Photo Credit: AFP

With the new government taking charge in Britain, senior officials of India and the U.K. will hold the next round of talks this month for the proposed free trade agreement to resolve the pending issues and close the negotiations, an official said.

The India-U.K. talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) began in January 2022. The 14th round of talks stalled as the two nations stepped into their general election cycles.

Also read | Visas not first priority for India in FTA with U.K.: High Commissioner Doraiswami

The official said the two sides are in touch, and the next round would start this month only.

Britain’s newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and said he stood ready to conclude an FTA that worked for both sides.

The two leaders agreed to work towards the early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-U.K. FTA.

There are pending issues in both the goods and services sectors.

The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty.

On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates and certain confectionary items.

Britain is also looking for more opportunities for U.K. services in Indian markets in segments like telecommunications, legal and financial services (banking and insurance).

The two countries are also negotiating a bilateral investment treaty (BIT).

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to $21.34 billion in 2023-24 from 20.36 billion in 2022-23.

The Labour Party’s election manifesto for the recent polls also committed to clinching the deal.

The new Starmer-led government’s new Foreign Secretary David Lammy is also on the record saying that he wants to finish the job on the FTA and plans to visit India within the first month of being elected.

According to the think tank GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative), the agreement is nearly finalised and with a few minor adjustments like curtailing the number of visas for Indian professionals, the Labour Party is likely to give its approval.

It has suggested that India should focus on two issues – Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) and non-traditional subjects like labour, environment, gender, and intellectual property rights – in the pact.

Historically, India has resisted incorporating these topics into FTAs as they often require domestic policy changes.

The GTRI report has stated that even if the UK agrees to eliminate tariffs on sectors like textiles, Indian exports might still need to meet stringent UK sustainability requirements, and this could adversely affect Indian exports, especially in labour-intensive sectors.

New Delhi:

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Saturday congratulated the new British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the Labour Party’s massive electoral triumph in the UK and said the victory is a testament to the power of a politics that puts people first.

In his letter to Keir Starmer, Mr Gandhi said his poll campaign’s emphasis on economic growth with equality, better opportunities for all through stronger social services, and community empowerment clearly struck a chord with the people of the UK, reflecting their aspirations for a brighter future.

“I extend my heartiest congratulations on your remarkable electoral victory, a significant achievement for the Labour Party and for you personally,” Mr Gandhi said in his letter.

“I extend my heartiest congratulations on your remarkable electoral victory.

I look forward to the continued strengthening of the bilateral relationship between India and the UK.”

Here is the letter from LoP Shri @RahulGandhi to UK Prime Minister Mr. @Keir_Starmer pic.twitter.com/pwiBb50PWq

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 6, 2024

“As someone committed to these ideals, I congratulate you and the people of the UK for championing them. Your victory is a testament to the power of a politics that puts people first. I also look forward to the continued strengthening of the bilateral relationship between India and the UK,” he said.

Mr Gandhi wished Mr Starmer all the best for his tenure and said he looks forward to meeting the British prime minister in the near future.

On Friday, Keir Starmer became the UK’s new prime minister and vowed to rebuild Britain, hours after his Labour Party secured a landslide victory in a general election in which the weary voters inflicted a “sobering verdict” on Rishi Sunak-led Conservatives.

The Labour Party secured 412 seats in the 650-member House of Commons, up 211 from the 2019 elections.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)