On Monday, 19 May, European Commission President von der Leyen, European Council President Costa and European Commissioner with responsibility for the EU-UK Relationship Maroš Šefčovič held the first official post-Brexit EU-UK Summit with UK Prime Minister Starmer and Minister for EU Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds. As expected, the Summit brought an Agreement on an EU-UK Security and Defence Partnership. Still, it was light in concrete deliverables otherwise, apart from an extension of the full reciprocal access to fishing waters beyond 30 June 2026 and until 30 June 2038.
Apart from a Joint Statement, the parties agreed on the following points:
- A new Strategic Partnership building on the “stable foundation of the relationship” set by the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
- A Declaration on the Common Understanding between both parties on the way forward, including energy, migration, SPS and Youth Mobility.
The EU and UK agreed on a Security and Defence Partnership to address shared threats in an increasingly unstable global environment, especially in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to international law, democracy, and multilateral collaboration in cyber-defence, counterterrorism, crisis management and maritime and space security. Additionally, both parties aim to deepen coordination in peacekeeping and foreign policy while reinforcing NATO cooperation across Europe.
Meanwhile, the comprehensive 61-point Declaration on the Common Understanding outlines high-level common aspects on which the EU and UK agree as part of ongoing and future negotiations. the text highlights the ongoing divisions in the negotiations regarding the UK’s involvement in the European Union’s internal electricity market. It also addresses the linkage between the EU and UK Emissions Trading Systems (ETS), the EU-UK SPS Agreement, and the establishment of an EU-UK Youth Mobility Scheme. These matters have been under negotiation for several years.
Moving forward, there will be:
- Regular exchanges between EU and UK interlocutors,
- A foreign and security policy dialogue every six months between the UK Foreign and Defence secretaries and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
- Annual Summits to strengthen the relationship and drive progress on the renewed agenda for EU-UK cooperation.
