British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be invited to an informal meeting with EU leaders in February.
The meeting is being organised by the incoming President of the European Council, Antonio Costa on 3 February , according to a report by the Financial Times (FT), who spoke to two EU officials.
The informal summit is due to take place at a retreat in Belgium, in a location outside of Brussels, where Starmer will be joined by the leaders of the 27 EU Member States alongside other European officials.
It follows reports of the UK minister for post-Brexit relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, having met with Costa this week in Brussels.
Starmer is widely expected to accept the invitation as part of his new EU strategy. He is looking for a "reset" of the relationship with the EU, in an attempt to undo some of the diplomatic damage done by the previous UK governments.
Under this new relationship, Starmer wants a new security agreement with the EU on defence, energy and irregular migration. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has also said he is keen to negotiate a security new pact.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to join the informal meeting, with defence policy expected to feature heavily in discussions among leaders.
The UK’s advanced military and intelligence capabilities are believed to be a key reason for Costa’s invitation. EU officials have previously said they would like to work more closely with London on defence spending and deployments, the FT reported.
"We are determined to reset the relationship and we have already begun that," Starmer told MPs on Wednesday.
