UK-EU Security Partnership: Bold Step Forward or Missed Opportunity?

On 19 May 2025, the UK and EU agreed a new Security and Defence Partnership, with the aims of creating a strong foundation for dialogue and paving the way for a new era of security cooperation. 

However, while being a first step towards the UK’s accession to the EU’s €150bn Security Action for Europe (SAFE) project (and the access to investment that may entail for industry), actually participating in SAFE is not provided by the Partnership.

But with escalating geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflict in Ukraine, is the Partnership the decisive centrepiece in aligning the relations between the UK and EU? This article will consider the key themes coming out of the deal and assess how influential the deal will be in providing UK businesses with sought after access to the EU defence market.

Key themes of the Partnership

The Partnership centres on cooperation and dialogue. It sets out a framework consisting of a series of dialogue and consultation mechanisms that seek to strengthen discussion between the two parties. These include six-monthly foreign and security policy dialogues, invitations to high-level meetings organised by the other and the UK’s participation in the biannual Schuman Security and Defence Forum. It targets collaboration across multiple domains - from defence initiatives to cyber security, emerging technologies, and training and education in security and defence.

The EU’s SAFE project

SAFE is a financial instrument which enables the European Commission to raise up to €150bn on the capital markets. It is an element of the ReARM initiative, and accession to which could lead to the UK being privy to this funding pot through structure “common procurement” loans aimed at scaling up their defence investments. 

Does the Partnership mark a ‘new era’ in UK-EU relations?

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed the 2025 UK-EU summit as marking a ‘new era’ in the relationship between the UK and EU. While increased co-operation is clearly to be welcomed in the current security environment, some commentators are already sceptical as to whether the Partnership lives up to anything significantly new in their relationship - or beyond what the EU has agreed with other third-party countries. They point to a lack of substantive deliverables and, notably, the fact the Partnership does not secure the UK with access to the EU’s SAFE project. While a separate European Commission statement suggests exploring future possibilities, the Partnership itself falls short of guaranteeing UK and its defence industry access to SAFE.

Is there hope on the horizon?

Accessing loans provided under the SAFE could open doors for further defence projects which UK businesses could participate in. However, such access remains a possibility in what Ursula von der Leyen described as a “second step” of negotiations - with no timeframe in place as to when these negotiations might happen. So, while the Partnership establishes a governance framework for further dialogue, it may have delivered less than industry hoped for. The question remains: is this truly a stepping stone on a path towards a more strengthened and cohesive partnership between the UK and EU and a significant step in the strengthening of European defence, or simply diplomatic window dressing that delays the hard decisions that both sides need to make?