I. Introduction

1. At the summit between the United Kingdom and the European Union on 19 May 2025, the European Commission and the United Kingdom explored opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation. This Common Understanding outlines the conclusions of these discussions. We will act swiftly according to the agreements, respecting each others procedures and legal frameworks.

2. To strengthen the relationship, we emphasize the importance of the two main agreements: the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. We reaffirm our commitment to their full and timely implementation.

3. We acknowledge the political agreements for reciprocal access to fishing waters until 30 June 2038 and the extension of energy cooperation.

II. Security, defence, and development cooperation

Security and defence

4. The European Commission and the United Kingdom see it as a mutual interest to strengthen cooperation in security and defence.

5. The Security and Defence Partnership reflects this ambition and provides a framework for dialogue and cooperation in areas such as supporting Ukraine, defence industry, space security, and cybersecurity.

6. Within this partnership, we will quickly explore possibilities for further cooperation.

Maritime security and safety

7. Cooperation in maritime security will be enhanced, including ship and port facility security and cybersecurity.

8. We aim to deepen cooperation in maritime safety, including accident reporting and investigation.

Development and disaster cooperation

9. We will establish a regular dialogue on development cooperation.

10. We seek enhanced cooperation in international disaster and humanitarian response.

Health Security

11. We explore the potential for exchange and cooperation in health security to prevent and combat future pandemics.

III. Putting people at the centre of the EU-UK relationship

12. We see it as a mutual interest to deepen people-to-people ties, especially for the younger generation.

13. We aim for a balanced youth exchange program that facilitates participation from EU and UK youth in various activities.

14. We are working towards the association of the UK with the Erasmus+ program.

15. We recognize the value of travel and cultural exchanges and continue to support them.

16. We continue to work on smooth border management for our citizens, including the use of eGates.

IV. Strengthening our economies while protecting our planet

17. We share the vision that strengthened economic relations are in our interest.

Energy cooperation

18. We explore the UKs participation in the EUs internal electricity market.

19. Current electricity trading arrangements remain while we explore the necessary parameters for participation.

New technologies

22. We welcome further exchanges on new energy technologies such as hydrogen and biomethane.

SPS Area

23. We work towards a functioning sanitary and phytosanitary area to address issues with the movement of agri-food products.

ETS Linking

34. We aim to link the EU and UK emissions trading systems.

35. This link should create conditions for mutual exemptions from respective carbon border adjustment mechanisms.

Internal security and judicial cooperation

48. We recognize the importance of ongoing cooperation in law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

49. We aim to intensify technical work in the Specialized Committee on Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation.

Irregular migration

57. We underline our commitment to deepen cooperation to tackle the challenges of irregular migration.