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The UK remains a cornerstone of European security: a nuclear power, a permanent UN Security Council member, and a leading defence spender. But its current foreign and defence cooperation with the EU is limited, fragmented, and largely informal. A new partnership should be ambitious in scope, establishing new frameworks for structured cooperation and forging a closer, more resilient partnership between the UK and the EU.

The world has changed dramatically since the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was signed in 2020. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, shifting US priorities, and escalating global instability have redrawn Europe’s security landscape. The UK has played a leading role in responding to these challenges — from coordinating military assistance and training for Ukrainian forces to sharing intelligence and working closely with European allies. This ad hoc cooperation in response to the war in Ukraine has demonstrated the UK’s indispensable contribution to European security. These developments have underscored the importance of a closer and more sustained UK–EU partnership, and heightened the need to build stronger, more resilient European security structures to more effectively respond to today’s threats.

With the 2025 UK–EU Summit on the horizon, there is a critical opportunity to pursue a more structured, strategic partnership. The EU–Norway relationship provides a compelling and pragmatic model for close security and defence cooperation between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Norway, while outside the EU, has built a close and flexible framework that protects its national autonomy while enabling deep and meaningful collaboration with the EU on shared security challenges.

1. Create a Structured UK–EU Security and Defence Partnership

• Deliver the vision of the 2019 Political Declaration, which set out a bold, Conservative-backed plan for foreign, security, and defence cooperation. 
• Establish a formal UK–EU Security and Defence Partnership, drawing on the Norway model but tailored to reflect the UK’s unique capabilities and leadership role in European security. 
• Embed annual summits and regular high-level dialogues to keep political engagement dynamic and responsive.

2. Renew Operational Cooperation

• Conclude a Framework Participation Agreement (FPA) to enable the United Kingdom’s selective participation in Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations. 
• Finalise an Administrative Arrangement (AA) with the European Defence Agency (EDA), allowing UK involvement in key projects under the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) framework.

3. Secure Access to EU Procurement Initiatives

• Negotiate access for UK industry to the €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) fund, launched under the EU’s ReArm Europe Plan / Readiness 2030, ensuring UK participation in collaborative defence research, development, and procurement programmes. 
• Pursue structured engagement with additional EU initiatives, including the European Defence Fund, European Peace Facility (EPF) and the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), to strengthen operational capabilities and sustain support for Ukraine. 

Read the full paper here.