The UK Government is pursuing deeper defence cooperation with European allies, including steps towards joint procurement and stockpiling of equipment, according to a ministerial statement.
In response to a Parliamentary Question from Martin Wrigley MP (Liberal Democrat – Newton Abbot), Minister of State for Defence Maria Eagle said the Government is committed to building an “ambitious, broad-based UK-EU security partnership” as part of efforts to respond to the current threats facing Europe.
She added: “We will seek a new geopolitical partnership with the EU that drives closer coordination and complements our unshakable commitment to NATO, which will remain the foremost vehicle for European security.”
Eagle pointed to existing multinational initiatives as examples of collective defence efforts, including the European Long-Range Strike Approach, the DIAMOND integrated air and missile defence project, and NATO’s Defence Production Action Plan.
She said that such cooperative procurement efforts would “deliver more of the capabilities we need across the continent and enhance our shared deterrence.”
The Minister also made clear the importance of the UK’s domestic defence industry, stating: “This Government recognises the vital role the UK’s defence industry plays not only in our national security but also to the economic prosperity and growth of the UK.”
Find a capability gap or two and design and manufacture a solution at pace. Our EU allies provide some good stuff but we need the capability to build anything we want domestically & quickly. Once we have filled our gaps we can sell abroad and we can buy other stuff. If we spent more time actually doing something and less setting up agreements everyone would be better off.
Building things deomestically is expensive, building it quickly even more so.
‘If we spent more time actually doing something….’
Well despite EU spite the UK has managed to defend it’s …..sandeels! Nice to see they are protected from fishing now. 👌
What EU spite?
For the last nine years Leavers have been insulting our neighbors and allies to try and pretend the harm Brexit has done Britain is their fault rather then our own.
You are not fooling anyone that the original lies did not take in.
We don’t need europe we are more than capable of buying our own weapons and we can store them on our island why are we constantly trying to do things cheap or add layers of complexity to everything we saw how complicated Germany made giving tanks to Ukraine imagine if we stockpile weapons in Europe and we need them quick
Its by design mate, they’ve ran the military in to the ground. While also tying us into the EU at every chance they get. Also so they can get us to hand over our military to the EU. When that happens we’ll be annexed in to the EU and we wont have a choice as we wont have an army to defend us. That what the treasonous scumbag remainer civil servants and MPs are doing in London. It’s always been the plan and its why brexit has been blocked and undermined at every opportunity.
Christ look at France, they’ve threatened to blockade the UK to force Boris to sign that terrible deal (they blamed covid). They threatened to cut off the electricity to the channel Islands. They illegally seized vaccines and PPE during covid. On top of that they are literally putting on FREE buses from the migrant camps to the beeches to flood us with migrants. Even though we are bloody paying them a fortune to stop the boats
France are literally doing the exact same thing Russia is doing to Poland. We should be arming ourselves to the teeth like the Poles and getting ready to kick the sh!t out of the French c***s.
Wow just wow.
Next Time , just get sober before commenting.
Good. UK should also be part of a new Eurotank initiative, seeking to field one type of tank in most of Europe major arms. That will drive down cost, maintenence & made in Europe. Right now, where we field 8 tanks in small numbers. That will not do in a WW1/2 war against Russia.