The European Union is reportedly demanding that the UK offer up British soldiers for so-called “peacekeeping” missions conducted by Brussels as a part of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s “Brexit reset”.
At a meeting in Luxembourg this week, Eurocrats impressed upon UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy that Britain would be expected to commit its soldiers to EU Common Security and Defence Policy missions if it wants a restructuring of post-Brexit relations, the Financial Times reported.
The globalist-oriented paper cited unnamed sources who explained that Britain would not be expected to participate immediately in EU “peacekeeping” efforts, but “they will do”.
The foreign minister said the meeting was a “historic moment that marks our EU reset” and declared that the UK and Europe’s security is “indivisible”.
“At this time, whether it is the aggression of Russia in Ukraine, the tremendous issues and conflicts in the Middle East, or global affairs and geopolitical affairs more generally, it is hugely important the UK and Europe remain steadfast,” Lammy added.
In a joint statement following the meeting, Lammy and EU High Representative Josep Borrell—the bloc’s top diplomat—said that they “reaffirmed the importance of the relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom for European security and defence and agreed to advance work towards a security partnership to address common threats and challenges.”
Should the leftist Labour government, which is staffed full of anti-Brexit politicians, acquiesce to the demands, it could be seen as a major betrayal of the outcome of the 2016 referendum.
The notion of an EU Army was a major topic ahead of the vote, with Brexiteers such as Nigel Farage warning that Brussels envisaged an imperial-style transnational military and that if Britain failed to exit the bloc, UK forces would be committed to fighting in European-led operations.
Opponents of Brexit, such as Lib-Dem turned Facebook executive Nick Clegg, derided the warnings as a conspiracy theory and a “dangerous fantasy“.
However, since Brexit, there have been growing calls from top figures in Brussels to formalise an EU Army, including Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has vowed to build the “political will” within Brussels to form a joint military. European Council President Charles Michel has also argued in favour of the project, arguing that the bugled Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan that the bloc needs to increase its “strategic autonomy“.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Eurocrats also began to push to “bring the UK into a framework for common cooperation on defence and foreign policy matters”.
With the Labour government vowing that Britain will not rejoin the EU’s Single Market or its youth mobility scheme, it is unclear what bargaining chips would actually persuade Brussels to give the UK better terms on trade.
According to The Times of London, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen is pushing for the UK to sign onto its asylum pact by 2026, in which Europen countries could unload up to 30,000 illegals onto Britain in exchange for taking back some of the boat migrants who cross the English Channel from France.
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