Security and defence: the UK and EU must stand together

Europe must wake up to the growing security threats posed by Russia

Keir Starmer this week became the first UK Prime Minister since Winston Churchill to take part in French Armistice Day services, invited by French President Emmanuel Macron. 

Both sides had an interest in communicating friendship and diplomatic business as usual, mere days after a destabilising US election. Macron, with political troubles at home, likely wanted association with a recent election winner, and will have been keen to offer a hand of friendship from one of the EU’s key players to a Prime Minister deciding his terms for a reset of relations. 

Neither side should let defence and security get lost amid negotiations on a wider reset. The need, wider uncertainty and potential costs are too great. Both sides should aim for quick wins, choosing to trust each other despite the mistakes of the last decade, to the benefit of Ukraine and the continent as a whole. 

Read the full article by Mike Buckley in Byline Times.