UK-EU reset: Good start but still much to do
12 Nov 2025 01:20 PM
The House of Lords European Affairs Committee says that the Government has made a good start on its promised reset of the UK’s relationship with the EU and bilateral ties with key European countries. However, the Committee notes that the reset is a process not an event, and that much remains to be done to achieve the Government’s objectives.
Background
The report is based on an inquiry launched in January 2025. The inquiry received 82 written submissions and involved 15 oral evidence sessions.
The report
The report assesses progress on the Government’s reset objectives. It falls into two parts:
- assessing the reset up to and including the May 2025 UK-EU summit; and,
- looking ahead, identifying matters for the Government to consider as it takes forward the summit agenda and looks beyond it, focusing in turn on foreign policy, defence and security issues, including law enforcement cooperation; trade and mobility issues; and overarching implications for Government and Parliament.
Findings and recommendations
The reset process
- ·The Government's reset of relations with the EU is a process not a single event or a summit, and there is no clarity about the endpoint.
UK-EU security and defence cooperation
- The Committee welcomes the Security and Defence Partnership (SDP) signed between the UK and the EU in May 2025, recognising the continental security and defence challenges facing the UK and EU and providing a framework for pragmatic partnership cooperation. The success of the SDP will be measured by the degree to which it improves the overall defence and security of Europe. It will be critical to ensure that the prospective agreement on the UK’s participation in SAFE, the EU’s new defence industrial programme, provides clear strategic benefits for the UK’s defence ecosystem.
Reset assessment
- Overall, the Government has made progress in achieving its reset objectives. It has negotiated a security pact with the EU. It has also secured the EU's agreement to "work towards" its objectives of a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, and an agreement to link the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS). However, there has been little, if any, progress on the Government's other objectives, of further law enforcement cooperation, help for touring artists, and mutual recognition of professional qualifications (MRPQ).
Dynamic alignment and the role of Parliament
- The planned new UK-EU agreements on a common SPS area and ETS linkage mean that UK dynamic alignment with EU law is now in prospect. This will have significant implications for Parliament. The Committee looks forward to engaging with the Government on this matter in coming months. It asks the Government to set out how it envisages that a scrutiny system for dynamic alignment would work and how it plans to ensure that Parliament can play a full scrutiny role in this new area of activity.
Chair’s comments
Chair of the European Affairs Committee Lord Ricketts yesterday said:
“The Government has made a strong start in resetting the UK’s relationship with the EU. But there is still much to be done to turn aspirations into workable agreements of benefit to Britain’s security and economic growth.
“The May 2025 UK-EU summit was the first major milestone setting out an ambitious direction of travel. We welcome the Security and Defence Partnership at a time of growing threats to European security. It will now be crucial that the negotiations under way on UK participation in the EU’s defence investment programme (SAFE) provide clear strategic benefits for the UK’s defence industry.
“The May summit also set the objective of a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, to reduce checks on trade in animal and plant products, and a link between the UK and EU Emissions Trading Schemes. But there is a lack of clarity on how these schemes will work, when they will be achieved and the arrangements for parliamentary scrutiny of their impact on the UK economy.
“There has been less progress on the Government's other objectives, of further law enforcement cooperation, help for touring artists, and mutual recognition of professional qualifications. On the other hand, negotiations are under way with the EU on two programmes which will benefit young people: a youth experience scheme and UK association to the Erasmus+ programme.”
Further information