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The new chapter in the EU–UK partnership opens up new opportunities for joint efforts to support Ukraine — both through joint procurement of military equipment for Ukraine and through coordinated direct investments in Ukraine’s defense industry.
This was stated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference in London on May 19, following the EU–UK summit.
"Our partnership… will create new opportunities for our industry, as well as for open and coordinated support for Ukraine — and this is important — both through joint procurement of military capabilities that will then be transferred to Ukraine, and through direct investments in Ukraine’s defense industry… We remain united around supporting Ukraine’s fight for survival. We are firmly committed to a complete and unconditional ceasefire that must lead to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," said von der Leyen.
She noted that today, during the summit in London, the EU and the United Kingdom opened a new chapter in their relations. The two sides stand shoulder to shoulder on the global stage, face mostly the same challenges, aim to achieve common goals, and share similar values and beliefs. One of the key achievements of the joint statement of understanding signed today in London is the security and defense partnership.
"It will promote deeper cooperation in security and defense initiatives covering a wide range of topics — from the defense industry to military mobility, peacekeeping, crisis management, and countering hybrid threats, to name just a few. This is the first step toward the UK’s participation in the European defense investment program SAFE, which envisions €150 billion in loans for joint procurement. Our security and defense partnership opens the door to such joint procurement," von der Leyen said.
According to her, the full implementation of this plan will still require some "next steps" from both sides, but it is already clear that this pooling of efforts will enable both parties to improve the readiness of their own forces, close existing capability gaps, and — most importantly — achieve interoperability between units when European and British armed forces participate in joint military missions.
