Press release: PM meeting with the Prime Minister of Belgium: 23 May 2018

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This afternoon the Prime Minister hosted Prime Minister Michel of Belgium for talks at Downing Street. They discussed the ongoing negotiations around the UK’s exit from the EU with the PM stressing that it was important to recognise the progress made thus far. She spoke about the agreements reached on vital issues such as citizens’ rights and the financial settlement and said that the agreement in principle of the implementation period had also given businesses much greater certainty. The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Michel looked forward to the June European Council.

The leaders spoke about global issues with the Prime Minister reiterating the UK’s commitment to the Iran nuclear deal as the best way of neutralising the threat of a nuclear armed Iran. The leaders agreed that there are important things that the deal does not cover, but which need to be addressed such as ballistic missiles and Iran’s destabilising regional activity.

The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Michel spoke about the importance of multilateralism and of the rules based international system. They agreed that it was vital to restore the international norm that the use of chemical weapons can never be acceptable. The Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Michel for the solidarity shown by Belgium following the chemical attack in Salisbury.

They discussed Russia, agreeing on the importance of continued international cooperation to tackle Russian destabilising activity in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere.

Finally the leaders looked forward to the upcoming World Cup fixture between the England and Belgium football teams in June.