Petition Hold a UK referendum before joining any defence and security pact with the EU.

Government responded

This response was given on 23 June 2025

The UK and the EU agreed a Security and Defence Partnership at the UK-EU Summit to strengthen our continent’s security. The UK retains full sovereign control over how it engages with EU initiatives.

The Government would like to thank the members of the public that have engaged with this issue at this once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our country and continent. Global instability, Russian aggression, climate change and rapid technological disruption are all contributing to a more challenging security landscape that requires all of Europe to work cooperatively to safeguard our security.

NATO is, and will remain, the cornerstone of Europe’s collective defence. But the European Union (EU) has an important role to play. The Government has been committed since coming to power to strengthening the UK’s security and defence relationship with the European Union, as part of the wider EU ‘Reset’ which was set out in its election manifesto. As a first step in strengthening our security and defence relationship, the UK and the EU agreed a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) at the UK-EU Summit on 19 May in London.

The SDP sets the framework for a new era of cooperation between the UK and the EU across a broad range of issues that were not covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Government looks forward to working closely with EU partners to implement the SDP in ways that strengthen our long-term security and prosperity. The SDP has been designed to complement our core bilateral security partnerships and to support the Government’s NATO First policy, recognising that NATO remains the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic Security. A renewed defence and security relationship between the UK and the EU makes Europe safer and ensures the interests of the British people and British industry continue to be represented at the highest level across our continent, through increased regular engagement with EU leaders.

While the SDP is ambitious and creates a strong basis for strengthening UK-EU cooperation, the UK retains full sovereign control over where and how it engages with EU initiatives and how it brings the EU into our national activities. The EU, similarly, has full control over its decision-making. All future cooperation enabled by the SDP will be in-line with our respective decision-making processes whilst strengthening the security of our shared continent at this generational moment for our collective security.

We thank you for engaging on this issue.

Ministry of Defence