La collaborazione italo-britannica nel settore della difesa e sicurezza dopo la Brexit

Italy and the United Kingdom have pursued a solid and long-lasting collaboration in the defence sector, both on an operational and industrial level. This cooperation is part of the broader European defence context, and has been mainly developed in the aeronautics and military electronics sectors, through intergovernmental agreements with variable geometry and good export potential. At the industrial level, the prolonged interactions between the Italian and British armed forces have favoured the integration between the respective defence industries by developing shared working methods, also following the creation of joint ventures. With the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU, the Agreement on trade and cooperation was signed to define relations between the EU and London in its status of “third country”. However, the lack of agreement on foreign, security and defence policies implies the need to find new cooperation paths. Hence, within the Italian context, it will be necessary to introduce regulatory changes to Law 185/90 in order to maintain privileged and effective relations with partner countries and allies outside the Union, such as the United Kingdom. Also, a framework agreement between the respective Defence Ministries could be a major step to develop sectoral collaboration.