The UK Government has reiterated its ambition to secure a comprehensive UK-EU defence and security agreement, according to a parliamentary response provided by Luke Pollard, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence.
His statement came in response to a question raised by Manuela Perteghella, Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-on-Avon, regarding the government’s plans to enhance cooperation with EU countries.
In his response, Pollard emphasised that European security remains a central priority of the UK’s foreign and defence policy, highlighting that NATO continues to be the cornerstone of Europe’s collective defence.
However, he acknowledged the critical role played by the EU in fostering European security and prosperity, signalling a commitment to deeper collaboration.
Pollard referenced the informal European Council retreat held on 3 February 2025, where the Prime Minister expressed the UK’s desire for an ambitious security and defence relationship with the EU. This includes efforts to bolster collaboration in support of Ukraine and identifying further opportunities for joint defence initiatives.
He added that the Ministry of Defence would continue to work closely with the Cabinet Office and other government departments to progress discussions on a potential UK-EU defence agreement. This collaboration reflects the government’s broader strategy of aligning national efforts with multinational organisations to address shared security challenges and strengthen transatlantic ties.
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The simple fact is the UK defence requirements line up better with the EU than with the US. The US itself is becoming less stable as a defence partner; I think we need to gradually wean ourselves off the US when it comes to military procurement. Very, very unlikely to happen but it would be an idea o cooperate more with France regarding nuclear deterrents – between us we have about 500 warheads, perhaps scope for joint developments in future? Perhaps less spending a fortune tailoring conventional weapons and looking at ones used by others? – we need to target our spending better instead of lots of duplicated effort.
I guess I’m in the minority who has no problem with the idea of a European army, navy and air force. as long as the Americans are on the sidelines and the European countries reta autonomy to act as they see it collectively Europe can field very powerful organisation which should, and I think would be a b barrier to any kind of special operation Putin might try his luck with
Mmm it’s called NATO! Why complicate things even without the US the structure would still exist.
An EU Military and NATO is not incompatible you know that right?
NATO functions with the US being a member instead of having 50 individual states providing armed forces. We don’t worry because we have the British Armed Forces in NATO instead of the English, Welsh, and Scottish Armed Forces being indipendently recognised. A collective EU defence posture and force would simply mean that NATO becomes an alliance with 10 member states instead of 32.
The only issue would be intigrating Ireland, Austria and Cyprus into NATO.
Well that is what I was getting at!
Maybe what you meant but it’s not what you said.
I agree we need to do it mostly within the NATO cover but work to make sure that the European arm of NATO can as, if and when required operate independently. What we can’t allow or continue to, is a s enario where if the US doesn’t cooperate in the mechanisms we are cannot operate independently from it. Only if this is obstructed by the US should alternative be sought. As it is I think the US will at least in essence support that but we know the US is a double edged sword it wants ultimate control over our actions which could obstruct ‘European NATO’ and certainly they would become concerned I’m sure if Europe really did start to look like a competitor and would certainly obstruct at that point. So we need to be careful, clever but determined because I fear America could become very insecure if this coup really takes off and as things stand many in MAGA prefer dictatorships to democracies, geez there was even a speaker on the floor of one of their Houses arguing against democracy in their processes while another Congressman has introduced a Bill to legalise the conquest of Greenland and call it Red White and Blue land. This could get very scary.
No without the U.S. nato would not exist, if you read all the articles a number of them require the US government to function..essentially without the U.S. the treaty would not function and a new treaty and organisation would need to be created…..essentially the U.S. as first amongst the nations..kept some of the key administration close to congress.
I don’t think anyone in the UK has a problem with a European army they just don’t want to be in it. If Europe had a massive army with soldiers stationed all the way from Finland to Romania with its own massive Airforce and missile defence then the UK would be very secure.
Plenty of people had an issue with an EU army in Britain, beyond just “not wanting to be a member of it.” It’s why Mosley stirred up shit about it AFTER Brexit.
From a strategic point of view a united European Armed Forces would be a very good thing though, Europe has a very large conventional force, nearly 2 million active duty personnel and a defence budget that comes in only after the US and China’s (Russia maybe overtaking them now due to it’s active war in Ukraine but hard to say), but what it lacks is Corps level enablers, tied together defence planning and economies of scale. A lot of waste is created by having 27 MoD’s with 27 procurement programs equipping 27 different armed forces.
I do not think Leavers want to be part of it. That is not Britain, just our Fascist fringe.
At the moment the supposedly ‘British’ military is mainly recruited from the Right, often far right. In the run up to the last election this site saw seven calls for a military coup if Labour won from four different people. Three of those people accounting for six of the calls were open Reform supporters.
We might be a lot safer with a European army.
Jim in theory yes on both counts but in practice uk publics view of it if it came into being would make Brexit look like a tea party whatever form of that term you want to take. A massive European force possibly 7 to 10 times or more the size of Britain’s forces as close as 30 mikes away would not be re assuring to many it would represent should a US formula develop there into being a threat to us (certainly as they see it) as or more scary than the Nazi hordes. And a few uncomfortable elections might make them right or control over that army somewhat up for grabs. That’s why we need to be in it and try to avoid that possibility from the inside in my view. But within a technical NATO umbrella makes it safer I think in that regard and pursuing a route between potential US or European unpalatable hegemony and manoeuvring things and our positioning in whatever best place is the safer as inevitably matters change over time is the best option if manageable. So much is unpredictable as things stand.
Personally I think it would be more productive to concentrate on bilateral cooperation at the level of individual countries. Negotiating Italy’s participation in GCAP is an obvious example of this approach. Meanwhile the French and Germans are off trying to develop a rival programme, which serves to illustrate the reality that defence is mostly a national competency within the EU just as it is everywhere else.
It is impossible to adapt the existing industrial base to the whole of the EU at once.
France and Germany are therefore trying to create something more integrated within the EU and less focused on belonging to Germany or France, but this still requires a lot of time and effort, mainly because nationalists have to be fought.
When you’re the ‘receiving’ country, it’s easy.
When you’re the giver, it’s difficult.
We have strong bilateral agreements with France, Germany and Italy. The only major European military player we don’t have any agreement with is Russia. I’m against an EU military as it would need 27 signatures to deploy anything. NATO mostly functions as coalitions of the willing, which means if Hungary doesn’t want to turn up, it doesn’t have to.
Eu defence is not about 27 signatures but enfanced cooperation and coordination of spending. The amount it can spend is potentially huge
But funds are also now beong developped at eu level and Even the up point chancellor is not against eu Defence bonds.
The EU is now acting like it’s doing us a favour with a European security agreement. The UK has zero need of such an agreement. This agreement is the only card the UK can play in relations with the EU.
They should not enter such an agreement with the EU unless we get better customs access and a refugee returns agreement.
Brussels is trying to state that the security agreement should not be linked with trade because they know they have a strong hand in trade and a weak hand in security. Hopefully the UK government is not daft enough to fall for it.
Weaker than in the UK on the security?
Do you really think so?
From my point of view, the UK has virtually nothing to give to the EU.
Not technologically, not economically, not politically, nothing.
Cooperation between the UK and France would be better for both countries, because we are closer than Germany, for example, in terms of our problems, capabilities and the way we deal with things.
On an EU scale, the UK has nothing to align with or push the EU.
But to say that the UK has no needs? I wouldn’t say that.
I’m more as you say for bilateral cooperation and as I said, but the UK has a huge need for cooperation, losing big daddy with Trump is probably one of the worst things that could happen to the UK.
What capability do we provide in your mind Jim that the EU does not have?
good tea
C17s
In the long run, we should reduce our reliance on America as much as it is physically possible but whether we like it or not, we need the USA and the EU
MEGA, Make Europe Great Again 🙂
Hegseth has laid out Trump’s view on Ukraine: war must end, Ukraine must accept territorial losses, no Nato membership, no US boots on the ground in Ukraine, Europe must lead against Russia, the US is focussed on China. Increased UK co-operation with the EU means a de-facto European army.
You forgot..European peace keeper force in Ukraine that is not covered by NATO..essentially Europe would be putting its armies in harms way outside of the structures and guarantees of NATO…Russia could trigger another war with Ukraine..eviserate the key European armies and the US has said it would simply go sorry not our issue and not a NATO article five trigger…
I’m pretty much thinking the U.S. has hit a point in its geopolitical and geostrategic view that Europe and the US will go their separate ways on defence… because essentially if the U.S. does not have European NATOs back around Russia, European NATO cannot afford to get tied up in any sino US war…. I think Trump may have be ending the dominance of western Liberal Democracies and if that’s the case European Nations may need to turtle up and only focus on their own security needs..not the international order, it’s tragic but I think Trump is forcing it.
Yes, Trump is forcing a major geopolitical split. Both the US and Europe are re-defining themselves, reaching for greater self awareness and identity. Its a world-wide trend e.g. China and India. Russia has been asserting itself and its culture in Ukraine and will grow in self-confidence; Ukraine will be forced to cede Crimea and part of its eastern regions will become ‘independent’ republics aligned to Moscow, like Belorussia. To a achieve security guarantees independent of NATO there will have to be defence treaties between Ukraine and the EU / UK who will have to put peacekeeping boots on the ground. Maybe Canada will contribute. I think the good news is that, paradoxically having asserted itself, Russia will dovetail more easily into Europe and ally less naturally with China and the BRICS. Orthodox Greece struggled with EU membership but made it. In the final analysis Russia is a Christian country. Ukraine will be split as Germany was after WW2, but Trump will deliver a ‘Marshall plan’ for its reconstruction.
The one thing the US has no control over is Ukraine’s EU membership which Russia is quite aware of.
If Ukraine becomes a member of the EU, there is a security guarantee there.
Peacekeeping is to be avoided. Canada for example does not participate on any due to the bad taste the Canadian brass and forces members have been dealt on these tours. I personally can attest. No clear rules of engagement and frustrating slow decision making .
You mean the GOP has gone its separate ways between the US and Europe. The Democrats are still pro Europe and maintaining NATO. Even if Trump is not President the GOP party ( and any future GOP president) intrinsically has this view that Europe is on its own. Europe should be and should have learned this after Trump took power 9 years ago.
The GOP has successfully managed to alienate itself to Canada and Mexico. Trump throwing a wrench into NAFTA trade agreement (especially with a trillion dollar US a year value with Canada ) shows they are not fit to run anything.
Canada and US have an extremely integrated trade and standard agreements. All in jeopardy currently. Americans (especially border states) will suffer from all of this and lot of those areas are GOP.
Canada is now leveraging a lot of its free trade agreement with the EU after all of this. Canada is now not putting all of its apples in one barrel anymore. America has a mood swing administration now.
March to the sound of the guns !!! give me a f¥€£in break, the Ostfront peace treaty ain’t even signed and we’re talkin’ about a new entente cordial, if Russia or China kicks off we will have our hands full even with the Amis.
Peace is best ♾️❤️☮️