The UK should focus on participating in the EU’s existing defence frameworks in the short term rather than opening talks on rejoining the bloc, the EU’s foreign policy chief has said.
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Kaja Kallas was speaking during a meeting with UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, as the two sides seek closer cooperation ahead of the EU-UK summit on 20 November. Streeting also held talks with EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius. Streeting is due to meet German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius later on Monday in Berlin.
Kallas said some in the EU are still “traumatised” by the difficult and often bitter negotiations that followed the UK’s decision to leave the bloc.
She argued that relations should develop gradually, with both sides prioritising practical areas of cooperation before considering more ambitious steps.
“It’s up to what UK people and a negotiated agreement – there’s a lot of traumatised people in Brussels over Brexit,” she said.
“These negotiations will be difficult, and we are not there yet,” she added.
“What I think is important is we want to have deeper relationship because you are very close, and we are stronger together but let’s move step by step,” Kallas said.
The UK remains committed to exploring closer defence cooperation with the bloc, Streeting said, despite opting out of the EU’s €150 billion Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence loan scheme last year.
London declined to join the programme after failing to reach an agreement with Brussels over an estimated €4 billion to €6 billion entry fee, which the UK government said didn’t represent value for money, UK sources said at the time.
The summit is attracting particular attention following newly elected UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s pledge to rebuild relations with the EU, including through greater cooperation on trade, education, energy and defence.
Burnham has also refused to rule out negotiations on the UK’s potential return as a full member of the EU.
However, despite a willingness in Brussels to see closer UK-EU integration, and potentially entertain talks for the UK to return, there’s a strong consensus that reopening membership negotiations would be lengthy and politically divisive.
Particularly given the divisions within British society over Brexit, as well as how cumbersome the experience was for Europeans.
Streeting cautioned against getting ahead of the debate on the UK’s potential return to the EU. However, he praised Burnham for what he described as a “courageous” decision to reopen the discussion, given the political sensitivities surrounding the matter.
He welcomed the prime minister’s decision to embark on a “courageous conversation with the European Commission, member states as well as the British people”.
“There’s no doubt leaving the EU hit our economy and we’re not as strong as we might have been,” Streeting added.
Defence cooperation and support for Ukraine
The discussions today focused on Russia’s continued aggression across Europe, including hybrid attacks, and Europe’s growing responsibility for providing military support to Ukraine.
Both sides also addressed the future of Europe’s defence industrial base, with Streeting arguing that the continent needed to significantly expand its industrial capacity.
However, he warned against the EU adopting a protectionist approach that could ultimately undermine its own objectives.
His comments were directed in part at the bloc’s proposed “Made in Europe” industrial drive, which seeks to prioritise European manufacturers across important sectors, including defence.
The UK is currently outside the initiative because it is no longer part of the EU’s single market.
“We need to be careful” that the Made in Europe push “doesn’t spread into self-defeating protectionism”, Streeting said.
