The United Kingdom leaving the European Union means that the EU will lose 25% of its military capability, but the 'security and defence' sub-committee of the European Parliament hopes that the UK will continue to participate in the civilian missions and operations of the EU.
The report of this sub-committee gets right to the point. First of all, it recalls the existence of two directives (which, in reality, are little applied) relevant in the field of defence. These concern public defence procurement and transfers of products related to defence. The Brexit effect will depend on the result of the negotiations as to the links between the UK and the single market.
British participation in missions and operations launched in the framework of common security and defence policy (CSDP) should be able to continue after Brexit, the MEPs go on to suggest. They argue that temporary measures ensuring continuity should be considered. However, they take the view that the use of quarters located in the UK should be phased out.
Lastly, they argue in favour of reaching an agreement on the Galileo programme in order to guarantee the EU access to its military usage (see EUROPE 11663).
See: http://bit.ly/2kdsrbQ (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)