Rebuilding UK defence ties with Europe

That this House believes the UK faces the greatest threats to our security than at any point in the last 30 years; further believes that Britain must seek to strengthen ties with European partners on whom we can depend, and who share our interests and values; acknowledges that this imperative has only been made more urgent by Donald Trump’s lack of reliability and Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating hybrid war against Europe; regrets the damage done to our security relationship with Europe as a result of the last Government’s botched Brexit deal; further regrets that this Government has not moved with enough urgency to rebuild defence ties with the EU, including failing to secure the UK’s enhanced access to the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) rearmament programme; recognises that European rearmament is accelerating in response to rising threats from Russia and other authoritarian states; further recognises the extraordinary contribution our defence industry can make to the security of Europe and in the face of our shared security challenges; calls on the Government to secure UK access to the SAFE fund so that British industry can contribute to collective rearmament and more effectively advance the regeneration of the UK’s military capabilities; and further calls on the Government to seek additional opportunities to deepen the UK’s defence ties with Europe, including securing the UK’s membership of the European Defence Agency.