Recommendation 56

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted in Part

The Government is pursuing closer cooperation with the EU under the Security and Defence Partnership in areas which deliver practical results against the shared threats facing Europe. This includes working together to sustain long-term support for Ukraine and to maintain pressure on Russia; strengthening cooperation to counter hybrid, cyber and information threats that undermine our democratic institutions and critical infrastructure; and ensuring close coordination on defence industrial resilience so that Europe can deliver capabilities faster, at scale, and in support of collective security. This cooperation is underpinned by sustained high-level engagement between Ministers and the European External Action Service (EEAS), including regular discussions involving the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and the EU High Representative, the strategic consultations on Russia / Ukraine and Hybrid Threats lead by Minister Doughty and by structured dialogue such as the inaugural UK-EU Security and Defence Dialogue on 20 March, led on the UK side by the Permanent Under Secretaries of the FCDO and Ministry of Defence. This approach reflects the UK’s role as a serious, pragmatic and active partner, focused on delivery and on acting together where it increases impact and avoids duplication. Cooperation with the EU in these areas is designed to reinforce NATO, which remains the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic defence, and to strengthen Europe’s overall ability to respond quickly and effectively to an increasingly challenging security environment. The UK sees the value of cooperation under EU programmes and participates in a range of programmes, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and Copernicus, but we do not have any plans to rejoin Galileo. UK decisions to join programmes are taken on a case by case basis, and we will only join programmes where it is in the national interest to do so. The UK public and businesses continue to have access to the Galileo Open Service, and the UK Armed Forces have access to the US GPS secure service. The UK will continue to work with international partners, including in Europe, to strengthen Positioning, Navigation and Timing resilience for mutual benefit. On the balance of the evidence available, we can see that trade barriers with the EU continue to be a major issue for many sectors. We support Government efforts to explore what further opportunities exist for reducing them jointly with the EU. It is unfortunate that statements made in recent months by different Ministers about both the “damage” done by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and their ambitions for the future of the economic relationship with the EU through further alignment lack any detail. If the Government is considering making proposals to dynamically align with the EU in further areas or form a new customs partnership with the EU as longer-term objective, it should be clear about this and there must be the opportunity for appropriate scrutiny of such proposals in Parliament.