Oxfordshire hosting European leaders in Keir Starmer's first UK-led summit

The Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will welcome leaders from across the continent to Blenheim Palace today (18th July). The birthplace of Winston Churchill is the venue for the 4th European Political Community (EPC) meeting today.

There will be plenty of famous faces at Blenheim Palace with visitors such as Ukraine's President Zelenskyy and France's Emmanuel Macron, as the leaders discuss the biggest threats facing Europe. From defence, to energy security, the war in Ukraine and illegal migration.

Security has been stepped up in Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, with mounted police in place and road closures and the Palace closed to the public all week.

For the first time at a meeting of the EPC, NATO, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe will be in attendance, demonstrating the importance of unity in response to the arc of conflict and instability inside and near Europe’s borders that affects the UK and the continent’s interests equally.

The Prime Minister has said he wants to rebuild relationships with key European partners.

Speaking about the summit Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Europe is at the forefront of some of the greatest challenges of our time.

"Russia’s barbaric war continues to reverberate across our continent, while vile smuggling gangs traffic innocent people on perilous journeys that too often end in tragedy.

"We cannot be spectators in this chapter of history. We must do more and go further, not just for the courageous Ukrainians on the frontlines, or those being trafficked from country-to-country, but so our future generations look back with pride at what our continent achieved together.

"I said I would change the way the UK engages with our European partners, working collaboratively to drive forward progress on these generational challenges, and that work starts at the European Political Community meeting."

It's also thought Sir Kier Starmer will use the major European summit to push for action to secure the continent's borders as he steps up efforts to tackle the UK's asylum backlog.

More than 100 Home Office staff will be redeployed from working on the now-scrapped Rwanda scheme to focus on a "rapid returns unit" to send people with no right to be in the UK back to their home country.

He will join a session on migration co-chaired by Italy's right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni at the summit today.

Sir Keir will also have a series of face-to-face talks with key figures including Polish counterpart Donald Tusk - who was president of the European Council at the height of the Brexit drama - as he attempts to strengthen ties with the continent.

The leaders will attend a reception hosted by the King in the palace's Long Library, which has walls lined by more than 10,000 books.

Many locals were excited at the prospect of so many European dignitaries visiting. The Woodstock Coffee Shop, which specialises in greek coffee, even extended an invite to the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to visit. It's unclear if he'll have time.

Many of the guests will be landing at Oxford Airport which has caused significant road closures and heightened police presence in the surround areas.

The road between the B443 and A44 will be closed from the 17th - 19th July to allow for the European Summit at Blenheim Palace.

During this time, bus services such as the S3 & S7 will also have to be diverted.

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