EU not required: Germany, France and Italy UK – CTAM – Citi AM

Three major EU countries – The France, Italy and Germany begin negotiations with the United Kingdom to reach post-Brexit security and intelligence agreements.

Reports in Germany and Germany indicate that discussions are taking place at the ambassador and ministerial levels, focusing on security cooperation and intelligence sharing. France, As well as Defender.

Bilateral talks follow the UK position that it is not interested in close security ties with the EU as a whole.

Germany

Germany, the largest and most powerful member of the UK and the European Union, is said to have begun talks several months ago with the aim of a joint declaration or agreement by the end of this year.

German Ambassador to London Andreas Michelis previously called the UK an “excellent partner” in the security and intelligence partnership with Germany, thereby underestimating the need for the EU to be a part of it.

As with any bilateral agreement, the UK and Germany discuss how and when to establish some kind of integrated foreign policy framework with the EU, often through NATO, G7 or E3, including Germany, the France And Great Britain. The E3 configuration was used in negotiations with Iran.

France

In the meantime France And the UK plans to restart the annual meeting between the UK Defense and Foreign Ministers.

This is said to have been acknowledged during the recent visit of French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

The last such summit took place two years ago.

“In many issues, we have similar opinions, shared analyzes or common interests. We are neighbors. We can’t keep looking at each other,” Le Trian said.

Italy

Finally, Italy also expects to conclude an agreement with the UK in the coming months.

Officials at the Italian embassy in London have made it clear to several news outlets that they hope to reach “a deal or a small deal” with the UK by the end of this year.

Third, the Italian government is said to be considering different scenarios in which Italian law could be introduced to see any trade agreement with the UK as a ‘trade with like-minded allies’, rather than a non-EU country. .

In general, Italy’s Deputy Defense Minister Giorgio Mule recently said that the UK’s Integrated Security and Foreign Policy Review shows “a willingness to maintain Britain’s commitment to security in Europe at a high level”.

Mule’s comments came just months after the new Italian prime minister took office. Mario Draghi, the former chairman of the European Central Bank, will be in favor of a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom.

Although he is a staunch supporter of Italy’s EU membership, he is more interested in closer ties with Russia and China than previous Italian governments.

Italy will also chair the next G20 summit in Rome on October 30 and 31 this year.

BAE settings

Italy’s cooperation with the UK on security and security matters is not new: PAE Systems and its Italian representative Leonardo have worked together for many years.

Most recently, they teamed up with Sixth Generation Fighter Jet, Tempest.

Mul stressed that “anchoring an industrial policy capable of confronting aggressive and ruthless international competition and, in particular, with Chinese skills, knowledge, skills and technological innovations” is important.

When approached Ville A.M. This afternoon, a European Commission spokesman in Brussels declined to comment on the reports.