In early 2025, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has received an invitation to attend an informal EU summit, the first time this has occurred since the bitter Brexit negotiations. Set against the volatile state of the world from Europe’s perspective, the focus of the February meeting will be future security and defence co-operation. With wars raging on several fronts, Europe needs to take a firm stance to protect its interests.
US President Donald Trump is threatening Western cohesion with his pledges to potentially walk away from Nato and impose punitive tariffs on imports, causing worry to both the EU and the UK. These threats have helped remind the EU and the UK of their common values, making their relations all the more important. Since winning the general election in 2025, the Labour government has been undertaking a series of shuttle diplomacy and symbolism in Europe, aiming to achieve an “ambitious reset” of EU-UK relations.
Labour sees relations with Europe as key to delivering on a number of priority pledges to the UK public, including defence, the economy and migration. Europe is also important for the Labour government’s whole agenda. Despite the “enormous amount of goodwill” towards the new Labour government, a clear note of scepticism remains in Brussels, which the government must heed to achieve tangible results.
The defence and security arrangement between the UK and the EU is considered the “low-hanging fruit”. It is relatively easy to formalise, as much of what is planned is already happening. There is no proposal to make a defence pact legally binding. However, there are still some major obstacles to overcome. As both sides work to find a workable solution, the EU is seeking to reinstate its youth mobility scheme, which the UK has not explicitly ruled out.
As both sides consider a mutual reset, the key question is whether Labour can convince their voters that the result will be a win-win for the UK. Both sides may need to make some compromises, and negotiations have a habit of getting bogged down in detail. A recent poll suggests voters in both the EU and the UK are keen to strengthen ties, with around half of those asked in the UK believing that greater engagement with the EU is the best way to boost the UK’s economy, strengthen its security, and effectively manage migration
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