The agreement, initialed in London by the British Prime Minister and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, should improve border security, the fight against organized crime and coordination between Great Britain and the EU in matters of defense.
The United Kingdom and Poland signed a new defense and security treaty on Wednesday, aimed in particular at strengthening their cooperation in the face of hybrid threats, which is part of Keir Starmer’s efforts to re-establish London with the rest of Europe ten years after Brexit. The agreement, initialed in London by the British Prime Minister and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, should improve border security, the fight against organized crime and coordination between Great Britain and the EU in matters of defence, Downing Street said in a press release. “The challenges facing Europe today require an even stronger partnership,” said the head of the British government in a press release.
“This treaty represents the greatest advance in our defense and security relationship with Poland in a generation. It will enable us to confront modern security threats that are perhaps less visible but no less dangerous.”
The agreement will allow the two countries to combine their expertise and industrial capabilities to develop and produce sophisticated next-generation weapons, particularly for air defense systems, Downing Street said.
Agreements signed with Paris and Berlin
Donald Tusk, who considered that the treaty should concentrate its efforts on the Russian “strategic threat”, specified that a significant part of the text was devoted to cyber security. Poland, which serves as a logistical hub for aid to Ukraine, has become a favored target of Moscow’s spy networks, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, the Polish prime minister said.
In power since 2024, Labor leader Keir Starmer has already signed bilateral defense agreements last year with France and Germany. In July 2025, London and Paris signed a joint declaration establishing the possibility of coordinating their nuclear deterrents in the face of “new threats” and the United Kingdom also signed a friendship treaty with Germany aimed at strengthening their cooperation in areas such as defence, immigration and transport. Poland, for its part, has concluded a defense treaty with France, and is working on a similar pact with Germany.
