The United Kingdom has emerged as the indispensable partner in any realistic restructuring of European security, a new Foreign Affairs analysis has argued - a role that Brussels cannot replicate, as "Hvylya" reports.

Hugo Bromley, an Applied History Research Fellow at Cambridge's Centre for Geopolitics, described the Washington-London relationship as "an unprecedented and deepening geopolitical friendship," built on defense-industrial and nuclear cooperation as well as the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.

The last Conservative government pioneered what Bromley called "minilateral" defense partnerships - smaller coalitions of like-minded states that can move faster than EU-wide institutions. AUKUS, the security pact among Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was one example. The Joint Expeditionary Force, a vehicle for cooperation among Baltic and North Sea countries to counter Russian actions, was another.

Bromley argued that this model - intergovernmental partnerships among willing states rather than Brussels-led integration - offers the most viable path to strengthening European defense. EU member states, he suggested, should commit to giving all U.S. treaty allies partner status in Brussels's defense financing initiatives, which would encourage beneficial cooperation and limit the European Commission's willingness to use rearmament as a vehicle for further integration.

European countries should also look beyond the continent for partners. Programs such as the GCAP fighter development project among Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom only strengthen European security. Poland's decision to turn to South Korea for military equipment and expertise makes similar strategic sense, given that both countries rely on large conventional land forces.

London is not without fault, however. Despite strong bipartisan support for Ukraine, British defense spending is rising too slowly and is not scheduled to reach 3.5 percent of GDP until 2035. Bromley urged Washington to push the UK to hit three percent before the current Parliament ends in 2029.

Also read: Pickup Trucks and Acoustic Networks: Why Ukraine's Low-Tech Defense Is Sweeping the Gulf.