Britain and the European Union have hailed a new chapter in their relationship. They have signed fresh agreements on defense cooperation and easing trade flows at their first formal summit since Brexit.

Brexit tore the United Kingdom and the European Union apart. Now, President Donald Trump’s America is prodding them back together.

It’s testament to the shock in the United Kingdom over what is being called Prime Minister Starmer’s “Brexit betrayal” that some of the fiercest criticism of the “reset” deal is coming from his own Labour party.

The first post-Brexit United Kingdom–European Union summit is taking place in London. The meeting's key focus is the signing of a defence agreement, but negotiations are ongoing until the last minute.

An agreement between London and Brussels was confirmed on Monday morning, just ahead of the first UK–EU bilateral summit since Brexit. After years of tense relations, the meeting is meant to mark the start of a new alliance between Keir Starmer's Britain and the European Union.

The government of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior EU officials, billed the summit as a major milestone in resetting relations with the 27-nation trade bloc.

The "roadmap," as Von der Leyen called it, is ambitious, and although both parties are willing to carry it out, the details are subject to the uncertainties of negotiations among 28 countries. The United Kingdom and the European Union have reached a framework agreement that marks the first approach between both since Brexit.

The stage has been set for a rapprochement between the UK and European Union, as the bad blood of the Brexit years morphs into a high-stakes hunt for allies in a region squeezed by Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.