EU and UK Hold Security and Defence Dialogue in Brussels: Kallas Seeks Progress on UK Role in EU Missions Within Two Weeks
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas held an EU-UK Security and Defence Dialogue in Brussels on November 2 with UK Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting. The two spoke to reporters ahead of the meeting, and EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius also took part in talks with the British side that day.
Kallas said the United Kingdom is a vital partner for European security, that the two sides are working together to counter hybrid threats and foreign information manipulation, and that close cooperation on sanctions is continuing. She said she wanted to see progress on a framework participation agreement allowing UK participation in EU civilian and military missions, noting that there were two weeks to go until the EU-UK summit on November 20.
Streeting said that in a new era of threat, working together strengthens Europe's security and deters adversaries. He said the discussions focused on Russia's continued aggression across Europe, including hybrid attacks, and on Europe's growing responsibility for providing military support to Ukraine. The two sides also looked at the future of Europe's defence industrial base, with Streeting arguing that Europe needs to expand its industrial capacity significantly.
Streeting also warned that the EU's proposed Made in Europe drive must not spread into self-defeating protectionism that would undermine its own goals. On the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence loans scheme, he said there was discussion over whether there would be a second phase and under which conditions, but that the issue was not settled ahead of the summit. He also said there was no doubt that leaving the EU had hit the British economy.
Kubilius said the UK was a crucial partner in building European security, with the talks covering stronger support for Ukraine and close cooperation on the defence industry. Streeting was due to travel on to Berlin later on Monday for talks with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
The EU and the UK signed a Security and Defence Partnership last year. The two sides will hold a summit in Brussels on November 20, with defence and security cooperation among the main topics.
(Source: European External Action Service)
Source: European External Action Service
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：欧盟高级代表 Kaja Kallas（左二）与防务专员 Andrius Kubilius（左一）10月26日在巴黎出席 E5 防长会议记者会（资料图）。Geoffroy Van der Hasselt 摄，欧盟，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: EU High Representative Kaja Kallas (second from left) and Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius (left) at the E5 defence ministers' press conference in Paris on October 26 (file photo). Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt, European Union, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
