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New UK-EU defence pact misses concrete details despite ambitious “first step”

20th May 2025 - 11:18 GMT | by Lucy Powell, Peter Magill in London

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The UK already works with EU members on programmes like A400M. (Photo: Crown Copyright)

Given the geopolitical gravity, analysts have said the defence and security agreement established falls short of what is needed for future UK-EU co-operation.

The UK and EU have established a new formal defence and security agreement, at the UK-EU Summit which was held on 19 May. Yet analysts have said that this proposal doesn’t go far enough for what’s needed from future political and industrial cooperation.

According to the UK government, the deal will expand cooperation between both parties on defence and security. The agreement covers areas such as maritime security, security and defence initiatives, disruptive technologies and space and seeks to strengthen the partnership between the two unions.

Crucially, the UK government has said that this agreement “paves the way” for

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Lucy Powell

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Lucy Powell


Lucy Powell is Shephard’s Air Reporter. She has spent the last two years reporting …

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Peter Magill

Author

Peter Magill


Peter Magill is a Defence Researcher at Shephard Group.

Prior to working at Shephard, he …

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