EU member states hope that negotiations on a security pact with the United Kingdom will continue so that it can be the main deliverable when leaders meet for a summit on May 19, several sources said in Euronews on Wednesday.
The removal of a safety pact would allow Great Britain to participate spouse For military capacities alongside the EU member states and allow block countries to obtain British military equipment thanks to a new European instrument of 150 billion euros to accelerate defense spending.
An EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Euronews after a regular meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday in which the next summit was discussed that “we all hope that a security and defense partnership can be signed”.
“In principle, we want to face (the) industrial defense base within the European Union, but the need is so urgent for Ukraine that we must associate with other countries,” added the source. “Certain conditions must be met, but all of this can be stated in the separate supply contract.”
Discussions between Brussels and London for a security and defense partnership are underway with the EU ambassadors planned to discuss a first project assembled by the Commission’s external action service next week.
A security and defense partnership should now be one of the three elements that should leave the summit which will be organized by the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and assisted by the president of the European Council Antonio Costa, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Kaja Kallas, the EU diplomat of the EU EU of which leads to the discussion of security partnership for the block.
150 billion euros
The other two documents include a “geopolitical preamble” in which they will announce a new “strategic partnership”; And a “common understanding” which aims “to define the parameters of the evolution of the relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom on a certain number of bilateral issues”, in particular fishing rights and phytosanitary rules, an EU official in Euronews said on Wednesday.
Brussels and London have declared in recent weeks that hitting such a pact is a priority given the tumultuous global geopolitical situation and the ambition shared by both sides of the canal to considerably accelerate defense expenses to be able to defend itself, only if necessary, against potential threats.
London announced its intention to increase defense expenses to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 while Brussels proposed a Plan 'Readiness 2030' To stimulate defense investments through the block, which includes a new instrument, nicknamed Safe, who will see the Commission lend some 150 billion euros which he plans to raise the market to the Member States.
But this money comes with attached channels, namely a supposedly European preference This largely excludes countries and manufacturers who are not part of the block, its single market or who already have a security pact with the EU. This is the case of the United Kingdom and the Turkiye, while Norway and Iceland can already participate fully.
Some Member States, however, had issued reservations about continuing with a security pact with the United Kingdom without first solving the exceptional Brexit problems, including citizens' rights, mobility of young people, phytosanitary rules and fishing, for which the current rules will expire in June 2026.
“Always work to do”
The “common understanding” could follow a certain way of appeasing these concerns, the head of the EU cited above stressing that “all the results of the summit are supposed to be linked to each other”.
Another EU diplomat, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told Euronews on Wednesday that “on fisheries, the atmosphere seems constructive, but the parameters must still be stabilized with our British partners”.
“There is still work to do to finalize the preparations for the summit, including the security and defense partnership” over the next three weeks, they added.
A third diplomat told Euronews that the “real level of ambition” remains to be seen and that the substantive details are being negotiated, but nevertheless described a security pact as a “large part and a domain of positive cooperation that we see ourselves with the United Kingdom after a few difficult years of Brexit”.
ADVERTISEMENTThe “dynamic change in security in terms of security to stronger partnerships and reliable partners that Europe really needs at the moment,” they also said.
The member states of the United Kingdom and the EU are aligned with geopolitical positions, including the need to continue to support Ukraine and put pressure on Russia. France and Great Britain are, for example, the spearhead of a so-called “volunteer coalition” to provide Kyiv security guarantees in the event of a peace agreement with Moscow.
However, the diplomat warned that “there are internal political considerations for the British Prime Minister”.
“There are local elections in the United Kingdom, and there are still a few weeks before the summit, and I think everyone is aware of the way everything is landing,” they said.
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