Working Hand in Hand?

The post-Brexit UK-EU Trade and Co-operation agreement does not include provisions on formal foreign policy co-operation. Even so, the UK, Germany and other EU countries have closely co-ordinated their response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They imposed a set of broad economic sanctions on Russia and provided Ukraine with extensive military and financial support. The key forums for political co-ordination between the UK and its European partners have been the G7 and NATO. This is largely because the US, a member of both organisations, has played a leading role in shaping the Western response to the conflict. Direct UK-EU co-operation has also been important, particularly on sanctions.