May seeks new security treaty with the EU

Speaking at a Munich security conference, Prime Minister Theresa May has outlined her intention to not let ‘rigid institutional restrictions’ get in the way of a post-Brexit security partnership.

Addressing Tory hardliners, the Prime Minister said that she wants to leave the EU’s common foreign and security policy as early as next year, but suggested a show of flexibility around the UK’s red lines to secure a new security treaty.

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, also said that the ‘security bridge between the UK and the EU would still be maintained’.

May also said that, without cooperation, the UK would no longer be able to help Europol as it currently does or extradite suspects as quickly. Conversely, May highlighted the arrests of suspected terrorists and operations against people traffickers as examples of the benefits of cooperation across borders.