By Lucy Caulkett-
Theresa May has called for a new “deep and special partnership” to ensure the UK and EU can continue to work together on security after Brexit.
May expressed the importance of having a unified security to prevent us from being susceptible to enemies said new arrangements in foreign and defence policy cooperation should be effective by next year.
In a speech to the Munich Security Conference, the prime minister said the UK would remain committed to Europe’s security after leaving the EU.
New security arrangements have yet to be negotiated for after Brexit.
May was with German prime minister, Angela Merkel on Friday, when she said that both sides need to be “bold and ambitious” in framing their future relations.
The German chancellor said that while the UK could not replicate its existing membership outside the EU, she wanted relations to be “as close as possible”.
The prime minister went as far as stating that the UK would be impotent when it comes to helping the European police agency Europol in the way it currently does, or extradite suspects as quickly.
To maintain coordination on security Theresa May highlighted the importance on the UK and the EU working together on sanctions, operations on the ground, and also developing capabilities in defence, cyber and space.
She warned against allowing “rigid institutional restrictions or deep-seated ideology” to jeopardise the security of UK citizens.
“We must do whatever is most practical and pragmatic in ensuring our collective security,” she added.
She poignantly warned that the UK and EU’s enemies would “like nothing better than to see us fractured”.
President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said the “security bridge between the UK and the EU would still be maintained” but
Theresa May noted that the EU had comprehensive relationships with other countries on trade and argued that there is “no legal or operational reason” why similar agreements could not be reached on security.
During talks with Angela Merkel on Friday, Mrs May said both sides need to be “bold and ambitious” in framing their future relations.
The German chancellor said that while the UK could not replicate its existing membership outside the EU, she wanted relations to be “as close as possible”. EU member states currently work closely in the fight against organised crime and terrorism.
Key initiatives include the European Arrest Warrant – under which suspects can be speedily extradited between member states – Europol, the EU intelligence agency, and the Schengen Information System of real-time alerts about suspects.
The UK says that while the legal framework for its membership of these arrangements will end when it leaves the EU in March 2019, it wants to draw up new working arrangements – which ministers have described as being “as close to the status quo as possible”.