Ambassador Holland briefs on the outcomes of the UK/EU Summit,
which took place on 19 May in London, including the leaders'
commitment to the Helsinki Decalogue and resolute condemnation of
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
"Thank you, Chair. On 19 May the UK Prime Minister, Sir welcomed Presidents Von Der
Leyen and Costa and High Representative Kallas to Lancaster
House, for the first ever Summit between the UK and the EU.
It was an important forward-looking discussion at which our
leaders confirmed our steadfast dedication to the fundamental
tenets of democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of
law. They restated our commitment to the Helsinki Decalogue and
to the rules based international order, with the United Nations
at its core.
Our leaders stressed our resolute condemnation of Russia's war of
aggression against Ukraine and underlined our commitment to hold
Russia accountable for its aggression. Our leaders also
offered continued support to Moldova and reaffirmed our
commitment to the stability and prosperity of the Western
Balkans.
Europe faces a generational threat to our shared security and
against this backdrop the discussion included global and
strategic priorities of joint concern and agreement to strengthen
cooperation across a range of issues for the security, safety and
prosperity of all people across the UK and EU.
During the Summit the UK and the EU reached agreement on a
Security and Defence Partnership. The Partnership is broad
and ambitious and will upgrade our cooperation on areas ranging
from defence industry, mobility of military material and
personnel, maritime security and space security, to illicit
finance, irregular migration and working together to protect our
critical infrastructure. These are issues relevant to the work
that we do each day here in Vienna and our partnership will
contribute to our shared security.
Madam Chair, this Summit underpinned the importance of UK and EU
cooperation and our new geopolitical partnership that drives
closer coordination, builds on our OSCE principles and
commitments and will underpin our comprehensive approach to
security.
Thank you."
