Stephen Hammond: It’s time for Britain to find a new pragmatic approach to relations with the EU

Stephen Hammond is Chair of the Conservative European Forum, and served as Member of Parliament for Wimbledon from 2005 to 2024.

The UK–EU Summit on Monday offers a critical opportunity to begin a new phase in the relationship between Britain and Europe – one rooted in realism, shared interests, and strategic ambition.

This opportunity has only been made possible by the groundwork laid by the Sunak government through the successful negotiation of the Windsor Framework, which helped rebuild trust and reopen channels for cooperation.

The world has changed profoundly even since the general election last year, let alone since the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was signed. If the UK is to secure its long-term interests, outdated political red lines must be reassessed, and a forward-looking partnership must be built.

The TCA was a necessary foundation, but it was always a starting point, not an end state. Since it came into force, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global protectionism, supply chain disruptions, and technological change have transformed the context in which we operate Our prosperity, influence, and security requires us to lead in international co-operation, be a bastion of open low cost trade reducing bureaucratic barriers to help British business succeed.

The Summit should mark the beginning of a process. No one expects every issue to be solved overnight. Resetting the UK–EU relationship will take time, sustained political will, and pragmatism on both sides. But immediate progress is possible – and a clear commitment to an ambitious, structured partnership must be made.

First and foremost, the agreement of a formal UK–EU Security and Defence Partnership is of vital importance and in the UK’s national interest.

We can look to the examples of Norway and Canada for inspiration: both have established structured security and defence cooperation agreements with the EU, underpinned by regular dialogue, operational collaboration, and annual summits. For the UK, such a partnership would re-establish formal channels for dialogue, allow us to engage selectively in Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions – which we once helped lead – and enable participation in Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects, such as the key Military Mobility initiative.

It must also give British businesses and defence manufacturers meaningful access to major EU procurement initiatives, particularly the €150 billion ReArm Europe plan. To date, EU defence programmes have often been overly protectionist, but collective security demands openness and cooperation with key partners. Britain remains one of Europe’s leading defence actors – a nuclear power, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and a major investor in advanced capabilities. The UK must be at the table – helping to shape Europe’s response to new threats and ensuring our national resilience.

Yet while defence and security are crucial, they must not overshadow the importance of rebuilding our economic relationship. The European Union remains Britain’s largest trading partner, accounting for 46 per cent of our total trade in goods and services in 2024. Trade with Europe underpins millions of British jobs, fuels investment, and drives economic growth across the country. Strengthening economic ties must be an equal priority.

The case for a UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement is overwhelming. Its absence has caused substantial friction at the border, disproportionately harming small and medium-sized enterprises. An SPS deal, modelled on existing EU agreements with New Zealand and Switzerland, could remove many costly and time-consuming barriers to trade.

Similarly, a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on conformity assessment bodies would offer major gains for UK manufacturers by removing the need for duplicative testing when exporting to the EU. Many of the EU’s other trading partners already benefit from these arrangements – there is no good reason the UK should not.

Perhaps most critically, services – which make up around 80 per cent of the UK economy – have been left largely outside the TCA.

While goods trade matters, Britain’s future prosperity will be services-led. Improvements to professional mobility and the mutual recognition of professional qualifications (MRPQ) are essential to the UK’s global competitiveness and long-term economic model as a services-led economy. Current restrictions in the TCA impose serious constraints on UK service providers – far more than we impose on EU professionals visiting the UK. Expanding the permitted activities for short-term business visitors and securing a comprehensive MRPQ agreement would help restore competitiveness in sectors like legal, financial, and engineering services.

The UK–EU Summit must be more than a polite stock-take. It must be the moment both sides commit to a new chapter – recognising that the TCA was not the final word, and that the world today demands far greater ambition.

Britain cannot afford to be passive.

By taking a pragmatic, confident approach, we can rebuild economic strength, reinforce security partnerships, and re-establish Britain’s influence in Europe and beyond.