Paulo Aguiar
The formalization of UK-EU security cooperation in the aftermath of Brexit, most notably institutionalized through the May 19, 2025 Strategic Partnership Agreement, represents a significant development in the architecture of European defense coordination. This article evaluates whether recent developments constitute a foundational transformation in UK-EU strategic relations in the post-Brexit period.
US Retreat and a New Geopolitical Context
To understand the rationale behind the renewed impetus for UK-EU security cooperation, it is necessary to contextualize the partnership within the broader reconfiguration of transatlantic security dynamics. The United States, long considered the cornerstone of European defense under NATO, has signaled a strategic pivot toward the Indo-Pacific and a reduced willingness to serve as Europe’s primary security guarantor. This shift, which includes calls for greater burden-sharing among NATO members and a decreased emphasis on forward deployment in Europe, has generated uncertainty among European policymakers.
In parallel, Europe faces heightened external threats, most notably the resurgence of Russian military assertiveness in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. The annexation of Crimea in 2014, followed by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has challenged the stability of the European security order. These developments, coupled with the use of hybrid tactics such as cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, have catalyzed renewed efforts at intra-European security coordination. The UK and EU, despite their formal separation post-Brexit, have been compelled by these converging threats to engage in functional security cooperation, not through integrationist mechanisms, but through coordinated, interest-driven frameworks designed to preserve autonomy while enhancing deterrence.
Structure of the EU-UK Deal
The institutional design of the EU-UK Security and Defence Partnership reflects a deliberate emphasis on flexibility and political discretion. Unlike binding defense treaties or supranational security arrangements, the partnership is structured as a modular, non-binding framework that allows for targeted cooperation in select areas, including cyber defense, crisis response, military mobility, and counter-hybrid threat operations.
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