MICHEÁL MARTIN will travel to the UK this evening to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of a UK-Ireland Summit dinner in the northwest of England tomorrow.
The Taoiseach is expected to discuss a number of key mutually affecting issues, as well as seeking to find a solution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine following Donald Trump’s announcement that it would be pausing military aid to the country.
For his part, the UK Prime Minister has outlined rekindling the relationship between Britain and Ireland as one of his key priorities, following a period of cooling during the preceding Government’s tenure.
It is expected that the two leaders will address a range of practical measures to strengthen key areas including energy, trade, culture and security.
Europe’s teetering relationship with the US is also likely to come up, following Mr. Starmer’s visit to Washington less than a fortnight ago and Mr. Martin’s upcoming visit to the Oval Office for the Irish Government’s traditional St. Patrick’s Day visit to the Capitol.
Despite Ireland’s neutral position on military matters globally, the Taoiseach is likely to pay close attention to the French Premier Emmanuel Macron’s address to his home nation this evening, as Europe seeks to find ways of boosting defence spending and spreading fiscal responsibility more evenly across NATO member states.
Posting on X earlier, Mr. Macron said: “In this moment of uncertainty, where the world is confronted by large challenges, I will address you tonight.”