Working hand in hand? EU-UK co-operation in supporting Ukraine

The UK and the EU have been staunch supporters of Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022. They condemned the invasion, imposed a set of broad economic sanctions on Russia, and provided Ukraine with extensive military and financial support. The longer the war goes on, however, the more differences of emphasis are appearing, both within the EU and between the EU and the UK – on issues such as the kind of military support that should be given to Ukraine, and whether or not to confiscate frozen Russian assets. Without a united approach from its partners, Ukraine’s prospects will grow worse, and the threat posed by Putin’s Russia to European security will increase. This paper analyses co-operation between the UK and its European partners, focusing on the EU as an institution and on Germany bilaterally. We take stock of past, current and planned policies towards Ukraine and assess the degree to which they are aligned. To conclude, the paper makes recommendations on how the UK and its European allies could better co-ordinate their support to Ukraine in the future.