Alison has welcomed plans announced at today’s UK-EU summit, after months of Liberal Democrat pressure, for better cross-Channel cooperation on defence and security. Starmer announced that the UK and EU had agreed to a new Security and Defence Partnership, setting out how the UK defence industry will be able to participate in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence fund. “At a time of increasing global uncertainty and volatility, this will formalise UK-EU co-operation on defence to ensure Europe’s safety and security”, said Number 10.
The Liberal Democrats called for a defence and security agreement with the EU in its July 2024 general election manifesto and have continued to push the Government to forge closer ties with Europe on defence. Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s “bull in a china shop” approach to global security and stability has “raised the stakes” on the need to work closely with reliable European partners, says Alison.
Alison questioned the Secretary of State for Defence on the matter in the House of Commons on Monday 19th May, asking whether “given France has previously said it wanted the UK’s access to be limited to 15%”, would the Defence Secretary confirm “what level of access has been agreed?”
The Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Sussex has hailed the shift in position from the Government as a “major win”, while pushing for Starmer to turn “fine words” into actions when it comes to EU-UK cooperation on defence. The party is also calling for the Government to see today’s agreement as a first step, and that Starmer must be ambitious in seeking to negotiate a new, bespoke Customs Union agreement with the EU which will unlock new growth and opportunities across the UK.