The United Kingdom
The relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom (UK) has evolved significantly since Brexit. Following the 2024 UK general election, the new government called for a ‘reset’ in relations with the EU, launching a renewed agenda of structured political cooperation across shared priorities. The UK-EU Summit on 19 May 2025 was the first high-level meeting of its kind since Brexit, establishing a new strategic partnership. The EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly plays a key role in fostering dialogue.
The UK joined the European Economic Community – which would later become the European Union (EU) – in 1973. For decades, it maintained a complex but significant relationship with the bloc as one of its members. However, in June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its EU membership. A narrow majority of voters, 51.9%, voted in favour of leaving. This marked the beginning of a lengthy and often contentious political process that became known as ‘Brexit’.
The UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020. The Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the EU and the UK established the terms of departure, covering the following areas: citizens’ rights, separation issues, the transition period (1 February to 31 December 2020), the financial settlement, the overall governance structure of the Withdrawal Agreement, Ireland, Cyprus and Gibraltar.
The UK continued to participate in the EU’s single market and customs union until the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. In December 2020, the EU and the UK finalised the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which came into force in May 2021. The TCA governs the post-Brexit relationship and sets out detailed provisions on trade in goods and services, digital commerce, transport, energy, fisheries, law enforcement cooperation, and other areas. It also includes mechanisms to ensure a level playing field and introduces governance structures, including the EU-UK Partnership Council, to oversee and facilitate cooperation and dispute resolution.
Despite the formal agreements, post-Brexit relations were strained in the early years. A major source of friction was the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. Designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, the Protocol kept Northern Ireland aligned with aspects of EU single market rules for goods, while creating new checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Disputes over its operation led the UK Government to propose the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol Bill of 2022, prompting EU criticism and a breakdown in trust.
A turning point came in February 2023 with the agreement of the Windsor Framework. The Framework responded to the challenges that had emerged in the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, introduced new systems to ease checks and restore smoother trade within the UK’s internal market, and provided a mechanism – the Stormont Brake – for the Northern Ireland Assembly to raise objections to future EU rules. This deal helped stabilise relations and marked a return to more constructive dialogue.
In 2024, the UK general election brought a Labour government to power, ushering in a new strategic direction in the UK’s relations with the EU. The management of EU-UK relations was centralised within the UK Cabinet Office, with Nick Thomas-Symonds appointed as the Minister for EU Relations.
While ruling out any return to the EU’s single market, customs union, or free movement, the UK Government has emphasised its commitment to building a long-term strategic partnership with the EU. This culminated in the first EU-UK Summit in London on 19 May 2025 setting out a new strategic partnership. Three documents were officially adopted: a joint statement, a Common Understanding on a renewed EU-UK agenda, and a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP). Both parties also agreed to hold a summit every year. At the summit, the EU and the UK agreed to work towards a ‘balanced’ youth experience scheme, the association of the UK to the Erasmus+ programme, a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, and an agreement linking their emissions trading systems. Negotiations will take place between the UK and the EU based on Council mandates.
Enhanced engagement on security and multilateral cooperation has also been largely driven by geopolitical pressures, particularly Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and shifts in the broader security landscape. The Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) establishes structured high-level dialogues, working-level consultations, and the possibility of UK participation in Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and EU training. The SDP also paves the way for UK participation in Security Action for Europe (SAFE).
Other shared priorities and areas for continued bilateral work include maritime security and safety, development cooperation, internal security and judicial cooperation, and fighting irregular migration.
Relations between the European Parliament and the UK
The European Parliament closely follows the implementation of the agreements with the UK. The Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on International Trade (INTA) are currently leading the own-initiative report on the ‘Implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)’, with 11 opinion-giving committees. The report is Parliament’s second evaluation of the implementation of the TCA since its entry into force in May 2021.
Before the 2025 UK-EU Summit, MEPs had called for a formal defence and security partnership, energy and climate cooperation, youth opportunities, easing trade frictions for SMEs, cooperation on AI and digital issues[1]. Most of these issues were covered in summit commitments.
A. The EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly
Constituted in 2021, the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (PPA) is an interparliamentary body established under the EU-UK TCA. The PPA is the most direct body for parliamentary scrutiny of the EU-UK relationship. It serves as a forum for parliamentarians to exchange views on EU-UK relations. It also receives updates from the Partnership Council – the main joint EU-UK body overseeing the implementation of the TCA – and makes recommendations to it to strengthen cooperation. The PPA is composed of 70 members, with 35 members from the UK Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords) and 35 MEPs (from the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, or D-UK). It meets twice a year, alternating between the European Parliament, in one of its usual places of work, and the UK Parliament. The latest Assembly took place in London on 17 and 18 November 2025. Parliamentarians discussed security and foreign policy cooperation, AI and digital cooperation, and creative and cultural exchanges.
For more information on the PPA, please see the website of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.
Clotilde Chantal Claudie Sebag