Tewkesbury MP Cameron Thomas welcomes UK-EU defence pact as a boost for Gloucestershire businesses

Liberal Democrat MP Cameron Thomas has welcomed the new UK-EU defence pact, agreed at a major summit on 19 May, and is now urging the Prime Minister to implement it. 

RAF Veteran Cameron welcomed plans announced at the UK-EU summit, which will unlock investment for Gloucestershire’s defence and security firms – it follows months of Liberal Democrat pressure for closer economic and defence cooperation with our European partners. 

Sir Kier Starmer announced that the UK and EU had agreed to a new Security and Defence Partnership, setting out how the UK defence industry will be able to participate in the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence fund, worth €150bn. The fund was announced in April as a direct response to continued Russian aggression in Europe. 

“At a time of increasing global uncertainty and volatility, this will formalise UK-EU co-operation on defence to ensure Europe’s safety and security”, said Number 10. 

The plan forms part of the EU’s response to Donald Trump refusal to guarantee that the US will underwrite European security, and the goal is to increase defence spending by €800bn.  

Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s chaotic approach to foreign policy has “raised the stakes” on the need to work with our reliable European partners, said Cameron.    

The Tewkesbury MP has hailed the shift in position from the Government as a “major win”, whilst pushing for Starmer to turn words into action when it comes to EU-UK cooperation on defence. 

This month, Cameron joined 15 others on a renewed list of UK MPs sanctioned by Russia. Eight of those MPs were Liberal Democrats, and Cameron has described it as "The greatest possible endorsement of the Liberal Democrats’ defence and foreign policy, from the Kremlin itself.” 

In Parliament, Cameron has urged the government to release frozen Russian assets and use them to support Ukraine. He hopes that this defence pact delivers an opportunity to collaborate with our partners to unlock a further €300bn from frozen assets across Europe. 

Cameron said: “Closer defence cooperation with the EU is a significant boost to our national security, and a multiplier to our global influence. A closer relationship with the EU is a boon for Gloucestershire’s economy because our world-class security and engineering sectors will be able to access the SAFE funding.  

“The world has changed very quickly, and the UK must adopt an appropriate stance. We must work seamlessly with our European neighbours to cripple Putin’s war machine and secure peace on Europe’s eastern border. 

“Britain's prestigious military and its defence and security sectors must be central to an effective European defence economy, either with US support or without. 

“Now the Prime Minister must manifest this agreement into action. Ukraine depends on it, Europe depends on it, and a peaceful future depends upon it.”