GovWire

Friends, fellow Europeans

Welcome to Britain

And welcome to the splendour of Blenheim Palace.

I hope you enjoyed the weather, the drive, and the architecture of this beautiful place.

Thank you so much for being here.

It is of course the birthplace of Winston Churchill

And we stand for the values that he embodies around the world.

Liberty and democracy, yes, of course

But also defiance and resolve in their defence.

And today, as a new storm gathers over our continent

We choose to meet it in that same spirit

And we choose to meet it together.

And that is the choice of the government that I lead. Now two weeks old.

We want to work with all of you

To reset relationships

Rediscover our common interest

And renew the bonds of trust and friendship

That brighten the fabric of European life.

And the task is urgent

Because our security is on the line.

Every day Ukraine fights to protect not just the Ukrainian people

But theEuropeanpeople.

A continent where our belief

In freedom, democracy and the rule of law

Was hard-won.

And that wants to live in peace.

So President Zelenskyy, in your struggle to uphold those values

I, we, salute you, once again.

Have no doubt: we will stand with you for as long as it takes.

Because I was struck by something that you said in fact during the NATO summit last week.

When you said that Ukraine needs more air defence, and then you said used words:before the new school year starts.

And that really struck me

Because returning to school after the summer break

That should be a moment of joy and excitement for children.

New uniforms, new exercise books, seeing how much their friends have grown over the summer holidays, and reuniting with friends.

How couldanyoneconsider that them a target?

So our first task here today

Is to confirm our steadfast support for Ukraine

To unite once again behind those values that we cherish

And to say, we will face down aggression on this continent together.

Because the threat from Russia reaches right across Europe.

Many of us have seen attacks on our own democracy.

People targeted on our streets.

Military planes entering our airspace.

Ships patrolling our coastlines.

And in Moldova and the Western Balkans

The threat is obviously even more acute.

So this is the moment for usallto do more.

And Im proud of Britains role in maintaining European security.

Through NATO, through the Joint Expeditionary Force, and more.

We stand together.

We guard Europes frontiers.

And now we must find new, more ambitious ways of working together

Firing up our industries

Meeting, not just the military challenge.

But the challenge to our economic, cyber and energy security as well.

I take a practical view of how the UK can meet this moment.

Im not driven by ideology but by what is best for my country.

And so we will strengthen our existing relationships

And we will build new ones.

This includes resetting our relationship with the EU.

Because I believe that the UK and the EU

Working together as sovereign partners

Are a powerful force for good across our continent.

For peace, for security, for prosperity

For all our people.

We have shown this I think in the G7

Where we are using Russian assets

To ensure they pay for the devastation they have brought to Ukraine

Were placing unprecedented sanctions on Russia

And reducing our collective dependence on Russian oil and gas.

And I think we should take pride in the steps our continent has taken on this.

But now we must see the job through.

We must use this moment

To accelerate towards clean energy

Support Ukraine to meet its energy needs ahead of winter

And tackle the ships that are helping Russia to evade sanctions.

We know what we can achieve together.

But its also time that we bring this resolve to another challenge facing our continent

The vile trade of people smuggling.

Lets be frank - challenge - is the wrong word.

It is now, I think, a crisis.

As we speak, as we gather here

A criminal empire is at work in every country represented here today.

Profiting off human misery and desperation.

Prepared to send infants, babies, pregnant mothers

Innocent people

To their deaths.

And last week four more souls

And actually, last night another one

Were lost in the waters of the English Channel.

A chilling reminder of the human cost of this vile trade.

And this summit is an opportunity to set a new path on illegal migration.

To transform the way that we work together

On border security

And law enforcement.

And to say, together: no more.

And in the UK our new Border Security Command will work in partnership with you.

We must combine our resources

Share intelligence, share tactics

Shut down the smuggling routes

And smash the gangs.

Before I came into politics, I was the Director of Public Prosecutions in Britain

A job I held for five years.

And I saw the work that can be done, across borders

On issues like counter terrorism.

Sophisticated gangs working across our borders.

And we used those same techniques to take those gangs down to ensure the safety of citizens across Europe.

And so I for one simply do not accept and will never accept that we cant do the same with the smuggling gangs

That somehow, they are the only gangs that can operate across Europe with impunity.

I just never will accept that, having been involved myself in the taking down of terrorist gangs.

So we must do more, together.

We must also do more to tackle the problem, of course, at source

To recognise the root causes

We know what they are.

Conflict, climate change, extreme poverty.

The crisis we face is the fault of the gangs no question.

But the decisions people take to leave their homes cannot be separated from these wider issues.

It is global inequality

And that deserves our attention as well.

So let me say something very clearly.

We are resetting our approach here.

This Government will not commit taxpayer money to gimmicks

We are here to serve our country in the national interest

In pursuit of solutions that will actually deliver results.

And more than that

We will approach this issue with humanity

And with profound respect for international law.

And thats why my government scrapped the unworkable Rwanda scheme on day one.

And its why we will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.

Churchill himself was among the chief architects of the Convention.

It was built on the blood bond of 1945

And our shared sacrifice for freedom.

I myself first read about these principles of the Convention and international law in a law library in Leeds, well 40 years ago now.

And that inspired me in everything I have done since then

And I still draw strength from it and value from it everyday.

Because they speak about the dignity of every human being

And that word dignity is there in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the most important words in it.

Dignity of every human being.

The very essence of what it is to be human.

And that isourlegacy

And so the nations of Europe must lead again today.

Together we have the opportunity to make the world safer, fairer and more prosperous.

So lets use this moment

To do more for Ukraine

Defend our democracies

Secure our energy supplies

And tackle illegal immigration

It is a pleasure today, on behalf of my country

To extend a hand to all of you.

To say that, under my leadership

Britain will be a friend and a partner.

Ready to work with you.

Not part of the European Union

But very much a part of Europe.

Not focused on the differences between us

But on the values that we share

United by our determination to defend them

And certain about what we can achieve together.

And now Id like to invite a true champion of European freedom

to address the plenary.

Our friend, President Zelenskyy.

Slava Ukraini!