Can EU-UK defence negotiations be a positive sum?

It is clearly in Britain and the European Union’s mutual interest to continue working closely together on defence after Brexit. Nevertheless, negotiating defence co-operation will not be pain-free; there are obstacles to a quick and easy deal. Some in the EU see Britain’s decision to leave as an attack on the fundamentals of European co-operation and no longer trust the UK as a strategic partner. What is more, the UK’s threat to launch a competitor to Galileo suggests to EU hardliners that London’s commitment to European security co-operation is thinner than Theresa May has repeatedly promised.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Plugging in the British: EU defence policy http://www.europeansources.info/record/plugging-in-the-british-eu-defence-policy/

United Kingdom: Department for Exiting the European Union: Policy Paper, May 2018: Framework for the UK-EU Security Partnership (et al) http://www.europeansources.info/record/framework-for-the-uk-eu-security-partnership/

United Kingdom: MI5: Speech, 14.05.18: Director General Andrew Parker Speech to BfV Symposium, Berlin, 14 May 2018 http://www.europeansources.info/record/director-general-andrew-parker-speech-to-bfv-symposium-berlin-14-may-2018-gchq-director-addresses-nato-on-shared-security-threats/

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