Paper in Lisbon argues EU-UK security coordination persists via informal forums after Brexit

Despite the politicization of relations since Brexit, the United Kingdom and the European Union have continued to coordinate on sanctions and arms deliveries to Ukraine through informal forums, according to a paper presented in Lisbon. The study contends that long-standing habits of cooperation are carrying over into alternative diplomatic venues even without common EU-UK governance structures.

Dr Agathe Piquet presented the paper, titled "EU-UK Diplomatic and Security Coordination beyond Brexit through Informal Venues," at the CES Conference in Lisbon on Friday, July 1, 2022, from 8:00 AM to 9:46 AM.

She was joined by Dr Helena Farrand Carrapico of Northumbria University on the panel "Challenges of EU Foreign Policy." The authors argued that the EU-UK relationship has been marked by unprecedented tension, with the UK’s "Global Britain" and the EU’s "Strategic Compass" largely overlooking each other as foreign-policy partners.

They noted that the UK’s proclaimed alliance with Australia and the United States was a shock for European allies, particularly France. Yet Russia’s war in Ukraine, they said, appears to have prompted a sense of collective responsibility and unity, enabling London and EU capitals to coordinate responses despite the absence of formal, shared structures.

The paper analyzes how coordination has occurred through alternative diplomatic venues such as the E3, the Normandy Format and the G7. It questions the extent to which socialization—the informal norms and working relationships developed within EU frameworks—continues to operate in these settings despite heightened political tensions.

Drawing on a case study of the E3, an innovative cooperation among France, Germany and the UK that emerged in 2003 to address the Iran nuclear issue among other matters, and based on interviews in London, Paris and Berlin, the authors support the idea that prior socialization in EU structures has survived and is continuing in other forums.

The findings suggest that even amid strained formal ties, established practices and relationships can sustain pragmatic coordination.