Can the EPC deliver a new era of development-security cooperation with our European neighbours?
Next week, Europe’s leaders will congregate at Blenheim Palace to address the most pressing matters facing their countries, such as energy, security, infrastructure and migration. The European Political Community (EPC), first proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, allows countries "that subscribe to our shared core values to find a new space for cooperation".
The 4th EPC meeting hosted by the UK this week will be the ideal opportunity for newly elected Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and his Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, to lay the foundations for their “reset” of European relations.
Lammy has already gone someway in pursuing this “reset”. Over his first weekend in office, the Foreign Secretary visited key allies Germany, Poland, and Sweden to set the tone for future European relations. He has also accepted an invitation to EU meetings on foreign policy in the autumn, and has repeatedly expressed his desire for “an ambitious and far-reaching UK-EU security pact” with his European counterparts.
Crucially, in pursuing these negotiations, Lammy seeks to broaden the definition of defence cooperation to go beyond a multilateral response to Russia's aggression and the invasion of Ukraine to include “the web of issues that make up modern-day security, from the climate crisis to energy, pandemics, cyber, investment strategies, and critical minerals.” The EPC therefore comes at a crucial moment for the new UK Government to show leadership on transnational challenges that go beyond the scope of traditional defence.
Where does development fit into this conversation? The issues to be addressed at the EPC meeting such as energy security and irregular migration are incredibly complex. As a Coalition for Global Prosperity report highlighted earlier this year, an effective, long-term, and sustainable response to Europe’s current irregular migration challenges can only be achieved through a balanced approach to include tackling its root causes. Over 200 million people could be internally displaced due to the impacts of the climate crisis, disproportionately impacting some of the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the world. The wider impacts will be felt globally, putting pressure on asylum and migration systems that are not fit for purpose. Given the large-scale and complex nature of these cross-border challenges, cooperation with our European partners must be about more than deterrence policy, and engage with addressing the “push” factors driving irregular migration.
Tackling climate change, pandemics and access to critical minerals also demonstrates how development has been absorbed into a security framework in which multilateral cooperation will be crucial. Beyond the moral argument for development, there is now a strategic imperative to compete with the economic “offers” of competitive states such as China. Though the UK remains a leader in many of these areas, it will struggle to achieve sustainable impact alone. This means collaborating with European development partners.
The EPC meeting comes at a timely moment. The UK is in a uniquely strong position now to set the agenda and make real progress on issues that were top of mind for voters, such as irregular migration, but also on broader security issues that have received little attention in the last six weeks of the election campaign. As the UK’s development capabilities have been curtailed in recent years, cooperation with European partners on development will enable the UK to partially recover some of its damaged credibility with its development partners without adding substantial funds.
As part of the UK’s “reset” on European relations, development must be a core part of the discussion in addressing the big security challenges, including Ukraine, energy security, and irregular migration. The EPC meeting hosted at Blenheim Palace comes at the perfect moment to lay the political groundwork for closer collaboration and alignment on global challenges. This approach will not only create a more effective and holistic defence strategy but also increase the impact and influence of what Europe can offer to developing nations. In an era of increased volatility and competitiveness, this is a crucial opportunity for leadership that the UK cannot afford to waste.
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