Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing an economic security agreement with the European Union to mitigate potential geopolitical shocks.

We have continued to enhance our cooperation with the EU on a range of economic security issues of mutual concern since the UK-EU Summit in 2025. The EU remains our most important trading partner, our economies are deeply interconnected and face many of the same challenges and threats, and we share a commitment to upholding the rules-based order. In February 2026, DBT Secretary of State (along with Chancellor for the Exchequer) met EU Commissioners Sefcovic and Dombrovksis to discuss trade and economic issues, including economic security.

The UK and EU will hold a second Summit in 2026, where we will seek to further strengthen our partnership on economic security.