SNAPSHOTS

U.K. and Poland Hedge Against Transatlantic Uncertainty With Bilateral Treaty

Jun 1, 2026 | 14:55 GMT

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk attend a signing ceremony of a UK-Poland defence and security treaty at the Battle of Britain Bunker on May 27 in London, England.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk attend a signing ceremony of a UK-Poland defense and security treaty at the Battle of Britain Bunker on May 27 in London, England.

(Jack Taylor - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The U.K.-Poland defense and security treaty will deepen weapons coproduction, joint exercises and cooperation against Russian hybrid threats, advancing both countries' efforts to position themselves at the center of a European rearmament drive spurred by growing doubts over U.S. security guarantees. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a defense and security treaty in London on May 27. Named the Northolt Treaty, the agreement commits the two countries to combine industrial capability to jointly develop and manufacture weapons in both the United Kingdom and Poland, including the coproduction of a next-generation medium-range air-defense missile. The two will step up the use of uncrewed systems and next-generation land capabilities to reinforce NATO's eastern flank. They will also hold large-scale joint exercises designed to sharpen interoperability across counterdrone warfare, electronic warfare and engineering support. The treaty further establishes cooperation against hybrid attacks by hostile state actors, which...

Subscribe to view this article

Subscribe Now

Subscribe

Already have an account?