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BRUSSELS (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told European Union leaders at a dinner on Monday that he wanted to work together to expand the continent's defences, including greater cooperation on missions and the cost of rearmament.
Starmer was invited to join the EU's 27 heads of state for dinner in Brussels to discuss EU-UK defence, the first time a British leader has done so since Britain quit the bloc in 2020.
At the dinner, Starmer outlined five areas where Britain and the EU could collaborate more: improving military mobility and logistics; working more closely on missions; protection from state threats and sabotage; developing military technology; and deepening industrial collaboration.
"Fragmentation would weaken us all," Starmer told the dinner, according to remarks provided by his Downing Street office. "So let's maximise the industrial weight and clout we have together."
Since winning a landslide election in July, Starmer has worked to improve ties with the EU after years of rancorous Brexit talks, with his government hoping to agree to scrap some of red tape hampering trade to try to boost economic growth.
The push for closer security ties comes as many European countries assess the cost of increasing defence spending in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Britain, which has one of Europe's strongest armed forces, is projected to spend the second-most on defence in Europe this year after Germany, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies think tank.
On Monday, Starmer separately urged EU leaders to put more economic pressure on Russia to dismantle President Vladimir Putin's "war machine".
"We need to see all allies stepping up - particularly in Europe," Starmer said.
"I'm here to work with our European partners on keeping up the pressure, targeting the energy revenues and the companies supplying his missile factories to crush Putin's war machine."
(Writing by Elizabeth Piper and Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Ros Russell and Hugh Lawson)
