Geopolitical Europe Pulse: UK elections and a hot summer for Europe-watchers ahead
24 May 2024
The Geopolitical Europe Pulse is a compilation of articles and resources on a specific topic of current affairs with particular relevance for Europe’s, and the EU’s, role in the world. After the UK just announced general elections for 4 July, this week’s edition is a two-in-one package: an overview of the summer agenda with all relevant dates with implications for Europe’s role in the world, and a zoom on the UK elections and EU-UK cooperation on the most important security challenges.
First things first: the agenda. Europeans already know that a lot would be at stake for them with the EU elections and the NATO summit this summer. Now that the UK has also announced General Elections for 4 July, many of the upcoming high-level meetings will potentially be held with a new British Prime Minister. Here’s an overview of dates that will become relevant for Europe’s role in the world:
27-28 May: EU Foreign Affairs Council (incl. Foreign Affairs Council/ defence), Brussels
6-9 June: European Parliament elections
11-12 June: Ukraine Recovery Conference, Berlin
13-15 June: G7 summit, Borgo Egnazia (Italy)
15-16 June: high-level Ukraine peace conference, Bürgenstock (Switzerland)
28-29 June: European Council (most likely with discussions on top jobs after the EU elections), Brussels
4 July: General Elections, United Kingdom
9-11 July: NATO summit, Washington D.C.
18 July: European Political Community summit, Blenheim Place (UK)
Zoom: UK elections and its implications for Europe’s role in the world
What’s the status quo of EU-UK relations in different policy areas? There’s probably no better resource than the UK-EU relations tracker by UK in a Changing Europe to get a full overview.
How could a Labour foreign policy look like? This essay in Foreign Affairs by shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy provides first ideas — and, although it remains very broad without clear priorities, shows a clear willingness for re-engagement with the EU.
And realistically, what could — or should — the UK prioritise, and how would this impact its partners? This research paper by Chatham House has suggestions.
What do the elections mean for EU-UK cooperation on security? Anand Menon already suggested an EU-UK security pact earlier this year, and explains in Financial Times why both sides need to drop their zero-sum thinking in European security policy.
A key priority for EU-UK cooperation will also be increasing their financial and military assistance for Ukraine — Ian Bond and Luigi Scazzieri outline potential next steps in this policy brief.
The elections in the UK can open a window of opportunity to enhance EU-UK cooperation in the field of security and defence, including on hybrid threats or in the Indo-Pacific. This policy brief authored for the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy has all the details — and shows that the anticipated election date could actually even benefit this cooperation.