Press release: Brexit Secretary reaffirms UK’s commitment to shared goals

David Davis has met leading Polish politicians and been briefed by British military personnel on the UK’s role in NATO’s deployment on Poland’s Eastern border as part of a visit to the country today.

Reaffirming the UK’s commitment to strengthening its relationships across Europe after exit, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union met with Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski and Europe Minister Konrad Szymanski to discuss progress in the negotiations.

They spoke about an agreement on citizens’ rights being within touching distance, and the importance of providing certainty to people from the EU living in the UK and British nationals living in Europe. David Davis also stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum that the Prime Minister’s speech in Florence injected into the negotiations.

While in Warsaw, the Secretary of State was also briefed by service personnel on the British deployment in Poland.

NATO has deployed an Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP) in the eastern part of the Alliance, with four multinational battalions in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, on a persistent, rotational basis. The EFP initiative is part of the biggest reinforcement of NATO collective defence in a generation.

David Davis also took part in an act of Remembrance, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw to commemorate the sacrifice of the Polish people during the Second World War and the UK’s lasting ties of friendship with Poland.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis said:

We have a historic and deep relationship with Poland, which will endure long after we have left the European Union.

The Prime Minister’s Florence speech gave new momentum to the negotiations and we are now within touching distance of an agreement on key issues such as citizens’ rights.

We welcome the EU’s move to start their own preparatory work on how they see the future relationship working; that will allow us to accelerate talks once they are ready to participate in this conversation.

We are approaching the discussions in a spirit of goodwill and at the December European Council we hope to rely on the support of our friends in Poland in progressing discussions to the next stage.

The visit to Warsaw confirms the UK’s commitment to deepening its bilateral relationships with countries across Europe after its departure from the EU.