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The Labour government should take Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s advice and rejoin the EU for the sake of European defence and security, the Rejoin EU Party says.
Zelenskyy reportedly said Friday that if the US ever withdrew from NATO, Europe’s security would depend solely on the EU and UK membership could help the bloc combat the security threat from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Brexit has reduced British influence in EU common security & defence policy, made it more difficult for UK firms to benefit from EU defence funds and cut British access to European defence and security intelligence-sharing, according to reports.
It has also forced the UK to rely more on NATO, an increasingly isolationist US and limited bilateral agreements with individual European nations.
The Rejoin EU Party believes that, given risks caused by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and future potential threats from China and further afield, Britain would be far better off rejoining the EU and fully participating in its defence structures, policy-making and funding initiatives.
Rejoin EU Party chairman and former MEP Brendan Donnelly said: “Zelenskyy’s right. The best thing the UK could do to help itself, Ukraine and other European nations facing a threat from Putin’s Russia is to rejoin the EU and participate fully in boosting EU defence capabilities, including equipment procurement, intelligence-sharing and policy development.
If EU membership is good enough for Ukraine, it’s good enough for us.
Rejoin EU Party deputy leader John Stevens, also a former MEP and European defence expert, said the Hungarian opposition’s victory over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party in Hungary’s election at the weekend would make it easier for the EU to provide financial support for Ukraine.
Stevens also pointed to the contrast between Ukraine’s approach to European defence and that taken by Boris Johnson’s government in the UK-EU Brexit deal negotiations.
Foreign policy, external security and defence cooperation were left out of the resulting trade and co-operation agreement as the UK government didn’t want to negotiate on such matters, the European Commission said. Johnson and his colleagues reportedly thought bilateral agreements with individual European nations were a better approach than a common European defence policy.
“I hope Johnson’s listening,” Stevens said.
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