We're still waiting for Keir Starmer's press conference to begin - the latest steer had it starting about 10 minutes late.

Journalists and reporters from the major broadcasters and publications have already taken their seats - notebooks open on laps.

It shouldn't be too much longer now - and we'll update you on timings as soon as we can.

Image source, Pool

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be holding a press conference shortly for the conclusion of today's European Political Community summit.

We'll bring you the key lines here - and you can follow along by tapping watch live above.

As we mentioned in our last post, European leaders are meeting with King Charles III as one of the final events at the EPC summit.

Let's take a look at some of the pictures from that reception:

Image source, Reut

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Next on the agenda at the EPC summit - the leaders will attend a reception hosted by King Charles III in Blenheim Palace's Long Library.

He's pictured here awaiting their arrival, alongside PM Keir Starmer:

Image source, Reuters

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been hosting Europe's leaders at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire today - but what do they think of him, and what kind of relationship do they want with the UK?

Press the play button below to find out:

Image source, EPA

Away from the summit in Oxfordshire, Slovakia's president Peter Pellegrini has said his country will not join the effective boycott of Hungary's EU presidency by other EU members.

Speaking on his first official visit to Budapest since taking office, Pellegrini says it's not necessary to punish someone for trying to bring about dialogue, a reference to Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban's "solo peace mission" to Moscow and Beijing which have angered Brussels and many EU leaders.

The European Commission announced on Monday it would not send commissioners but merely senior civil servants to informal EU ministerial meetings hosted by Budapest.

Meanwhile, Politico reported this week that EU foreign ministers are set to snub Hungary by organising their own foreign affairs meeting in Brussels in August instead of traveling to Budapest for Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s summit.

Pellegrini's comments suggest Slovakia's foreign minister Juraj Blanar is likely to be one of the few EU ministers who will travel to Budapest in late August, if the event still goes ahead.

Hungary and now Slovakia are outliers on policy towards Ukraine and Russia, with both calling for a ceasefire and diplomacy instead of European military support for Kyiv.

• You can read analysis about Hungary's president as a self-styled peacemaker here

More now from BBC political editor Chris Mason's interview with Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the EPC summit.

Asked if the world is more dangerous now than it has been before, Stoltenberg says yes, but adds that the alliance is stronger because it has adapted to new threats.

"Nato has been able to keep us secure for 75 years... but the main point of Nato is to prevent war and pursue peace.

"The way we do that is to make sure there is no room for any misunderstanding in places like Moscow and Beijing."

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he expects the US to continue its support of Nato regardless of who wins the upcoming election.

Stoltenberg is responding to comments made by former US president Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance, who recently told a podcast he “doesn’t really care what happens in Ukraine, one way or the other”.

Asked by BBC's political editor Chris Mason if he was aware of remarks, the Nato chief says: "We need to relate to those who are in charge, whoever that may be... I expect them to continue to be support of Ukraine".

Speaking from the European Political Community (EPC) summit at Blenheim Palace, Stoltenberg says Trump's past criticism of Nato was not aimed at the alliance itself, but allies not investing enough, which he adds was a "relevant and valid" point.

How do the UK’s small boat crossings compare with the EU’s?published at 15:35 British Summer Time 18 July

15:35 BST 18 July

By Tamara Kovacevic

Earlier on, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was no "silver bullet" to tackle small boats crossing the channel.

The UK government has set “closer collaboration to tackle illegal immigration” as its main objective for today's summit.

So, let’s look at the scale of the challenge this presents in both the UK and the EU.

In 2024, a total of 14,759 people arrived in the UK, external on small boats.

Over the same period, the EU received 79,665 people by boats, external crossing the Mediterranean.

The majority of them arrived in just three countries:

• Italy: 29,485
• Spain: 26,863
• Greece: 23,117

All three have populations smaller than the UK: Italy by 14% and Spain by 29%, while the population of Greece is more than six time smaller than the UK’s.

They received the most people in previous years as well, including last year when 263,000 arrived via the Mediterranean - the highest number since 2016.

The UK’s figures peaked in 2022 with 45,755 arrivals.

While we wait to establish a secure feed from Blenheim Palace, let's take a look back through some of the latest pictures from the EPC summit:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Shuttershock

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

There seem to be some issues with the feed for the closing plenary.

We will attempt to return to the summit and bring you the key lines from leaders as soon as we can.

The closing plenary begins with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressing leaders.

He talks about tackling the "vile trade" of people smuggling, with people making crossings in small boats across the Channel.

Starmer says to call this a "challenge" is the wrong word - "this is now a crisis", he says, with a "criminal empire profiting on human misery and desperation".

European nations have an opportunity to "set a new path" on illegal migration, he says, by combining their resources and sharing tactics to shut down smuggling routes and "smash the gangs".

The closing plenary - meaning a session that is usually attended by all delegates - for the European Political Community summit is about to start.

We'll bring you the key lines here - and you can follow along by hitting Watch live above.

Starmer keen to emphasise his support for the rule of lawpublished at 14:51 British Summer Time 18 July

14:51 BST 18 July

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent, reporting from Blenheim Palace

Image source, Getty Images

As part of his attempt to “reset” Britain’s relations with European leaders, Sir Keir Starmer is falling over himself to emphasise his support for - and commitment to - the rule of law.

In his opening statement, he spoke of having a “profound respect for international law” and made clear that Britain would not be leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, something the previous government toyed with doing.

He noted that Winston Churchill – who was born at Blenheim Palace – was “among the chief architects of the convention”.

So keen is he to make the point that FCDO officials have unearthed and put on show an original copy of the Treaty of London for leaders to examine at the summit.

The treaty established the Council of Europe – the guardian of human rights on the continent - and was signed in 1949 by the then Labour Foreign Secretary, Ernie Bevin.

So precious is the text that is being guarded round the clock. Officials say this commitment to international law “does open up possibilities” in resetting relations with Europe, as governments – they say - now know that what is important to them is also important to the UK.

Ursula von der Leyen's EU plan for "a true European Defence Union" shows Europe's confrontational stance against Russia, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Earlier today, the now re-elected European Commission president told the European Parliament that she would focus on defence and security if she was given a second term as president.

Responding to the comments, Peskov says: "This once again confirms the attitude of European states towards militarisation, towards escalation of tensions, towards confrontation and towards relying on confrontational methods in their foreign policy."

Peskov claims that Russia has not and does not present any threat to anyone in the EU.

Talking about Ukraine, Peskov goes on to say that Russia is defending its interests because EU countries have excluded any possibility of dialogue and consideration of any of Russia's concerns.

"These are the realities in which we have to live, and this forces us to configure our foreign policy approaches accordingly," Peskov says.

Image source, PA Media

Downing Street says the prime minister discussed Italy's deal to send migrants to Albania for processing during an informal "brush-by" chat with Albanian PM Edi Rama at Blenheim Palace.

They discussed "issues of European security including migration, specifically innovative solutions such as the Italy-Albania partnership", along with support to Ukraine and "UK co-operation in the Western Balkans", a No 10 spokesperson adds.

The spokesperson says the two leaders "agreed to continue to strengthen the relationship between our two countries".

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from Blenheim Palace

Image source, EPA

I've spent the morning on the "red carpet" at the European Political Community summit.

Leaders arrive here and we try and grab a word with them.

What was striking was that most of them did want to talk this morning - and were very optimistic about the relationship with the UK under Sir Keir Starmer.

French President Emmanuel Macron told me: “I’m very happy and this is a great opportunity for a reset.” He also said there was no "silver bullet" when it comes to tackling small boats crossing the channel.

Ireland's Taoiseach Simon Harris said he was delighted by Starmer's approach to Europe.

"I’m really delighted to see a British PM say they’d like a closer relationship with the EU and Ireland is very supportive of that. We look forward to that detail coming forward in due course.”

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also told me: "We have the highest expectations with new PM."

Some of that will be the pleasantries of meeting a new prime minister on their turf. Some of it is genuine optimism.

But remember, talks with the EU and other European countries aren't always straight forward. Starmer wants to tackle issues like small boats and migration. That won't necessarily be straight forward - and will require both give and take.

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

It's been a busy morning covering the opening of the European Political Community summit in Oxfordshire.

Let's quickly recap some of the key moments from today's events:

• Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to reset the UK's relationship with the European Union in his opening speech at Blenheim Palace
• The prime minister said he wanted to rediscover common interests and shared values which underpin the essence of a European identity
• Topics in his address also centred on working closely on clean energy, support for Ukraine and illegal immigration
• He insisted his Labour government would approach the illegal immigration issue with humanity and respect for international law and stressed that the UK would not withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights
• French president Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez are among those attending
• Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky also made an address where he said togetherness in the face of Russian aggression was key

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

In the last few moments, Ursula von der Leyen has clinched a second term as European Commission president.

The 720-member European Parliament approved her for another five-year term with 401 votes in favour, 284 against and 15 abstentions.

She needed 361 votes to pass.

The vote meant she was not able to attend the EPC summit today at Blenheim Palace.

Before her re-election, von der Leyen pledged to give the EU a bigger role in defence and security, to oppose extremism, and ensure that member-states cut carbon dioxide emissions by 90% by 2040.

• More on this story here

Nathan Briant, Bethan Nimmo & Jono Eden
BBC South Online, BBC Radio Oxford & BBC South Today

While European leaders are holding talks at Blenheim Palace and enjoying the picturesque setting of the venue, not all local residents are happy about the intrusion.

Blenheim Palace is usually a big pull to the town of Woodstock. But the palace has been closed since the weekend and road closures in the area will remain until Friday.

Mark Harris, from Woodstock Grocers, says his business is set to lose between £500 and £1,000.

"All the signs coming into Woodstock say avoid the area, so what shoppers are going to be here? None," he says.

Is he proud the summit is being held in Oxfordshire? "No," he replies. "It shouldn't be here. It should be somewhere where it's not going to be affecting locals."

Despite some irritation, there is plenty of local pride and excitement as well.

Janey Velasquez is a teacher at Woodstock Primary School. "I’m excited to see the children coming in this morning because I know there will be a lot of talk about it," she says.

"We’re proud to be on Blenheim’s doorstep - we’re kind of relishing it."

You can read more about the local reaction to the summit being held at Blenheim here.