Policy paper

Joint statement on foreign, security, defence, development and bilateral cooperation between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Kingdom of Denmark

Published 20 June 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

Introduction

As close neighbours and Allies, the governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (‘the UK’) and the Kingdom of Denmark (‘Denmark’), share historic ties of friendship, based on shared values, cultural and people-to-people links and strong engagement on foreign policy and sustainable development. As like-minded democracies, we are committed to cooperation in multilateral fora to uphold and defend freedom and democracy, free trade, human rights and the rule of law.

These shared values are reinforced by our common membership of organisations, including the United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the international financial institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Council of Europe (CoE) amongst others.

We are committed to deepening our ties to overcome current and future threats to our security and defend our shared values. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine underscores the importance of Allied and European solidarity, across a wide range of policy areas.

This Joint Statement sets out our ambition to enhance our bilateral partnership, across foreign policy, security and defence, science and technology, sustainable development, economic cooperation, irregular migration, and climate and energy.

Our cooperation shall be consistent with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and the EU and shall seek to engage in friendly cooperation on common issues, particularly at a time of shared geopolitical challenges. In implementing this Joint Statement, we will fully respect Denmark’s obligations as an EU Member State.

Multilateral cooperation

We reaffirm our mutual commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the promotion of a rules-based international order.

We will work together to defend the global peace and security through our open societies, accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, advance cross-regional partnerships and effective multilateralism and to reform the international financial architecture, starting with the Multilateral Development Banks, to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Foreign, security and defence policy cooperation

As long-standing allies, the UK and Denmark share a strong commitment to promoting security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic and in the North and Baltic Seas, as well as the Arctic and the North Atlantic.

Through regular security policy dialogues, and the United Kingdom-Denmark Joint Statement on the enhancement of bilateral defence cooperation, we will continue to work closely together on a wide range of security and defence issues – bilaterally, as well as in NATO and the JEF – including on military operations, cyber, intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism and critical underwater and offshore infrastructure.

We stand together in condemning Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We commit to continuing our security assistance to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s aggression for as long as it takes. We reiterate our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.

We remain committed to continued coordination to strengthen peace and security in Europe and the European neighbourhood against Russian aggression, and holding those responsible to account, including through our support to the International Criminal Court. We are committed to Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.

We are committed to collective deterrence and defence through NATO, and will work together to strengthen NATO’s long-term defence posture and to ensure NATO has a wide network of partnerships ready to tackle all threats to Euro-Atlantic security. Members of the British and Danish Armed Forces have served together in operations, missions and conflict zones through several decades.

We are committed to the successful integration of Finland and Sweden into NATO as Allies and key regional actors in security and defence. As likeminded Allies, we will work together to ensure that NATO continues to modernise, adapt, and maintain its technological edge in the face of pervasive instability and rising strategic competition. We remain committed to our strong bilateral cooperation, including through joint exercising and training, and to cooperation through the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

We will enhance our collaboration on cyber and in countering disinformation to prevent interference in democratic processes, and to protect our societies against espionage, disinformation and hostile cyber operations. We will exchange best practice on respective cyber strategies as responsible actors in cyber space.

Energy security and climate action

Building on the UK-Denmark Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Energy Transition, signed in April 2023, we will ensure our energy security through cooperation on district heating, energy efficiency, offshore energy infrastructure and diversification of our energy supply, contributing to our national action plans to reach Net Zero.

Noting our support for interconnection and making the best use of our shared infrastructure, we will analyse the possibility of further cooperation on offshore energy infrastructure, and continue to integrate our renewable energy systems to increase our security and prosperity.

We will build on discussions at the North Sea Summit and the North Seas Energy Cooperation, to identify ways to support the clean energy transition as a long-term solution to end dependency on Russian fossil fuels.

The UK and Denmark are global leaders in international climate ambition and mitigation. We will work together as advocates for strong climate and environmental action, building on our commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact, including to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and our national targets for 2050, in addition to other obligations such as zero emission shipping by 2050 under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation.

We remain committed to keeping the 1.5c target alive through our actions, including accelerating the phase out of unabated fossil fuels and ensuring countries collectively scale up mitigation ambition and action throughout this critical decade. We will do this through delivering and championing finance for climate adaptation and progress on loss and damage, promoting ocean conservation and protection, halting and reversing biodiversity loss, deforestation and land degradation, and continuing our global leadership towards net zero emissions.

Science, research and technology

We will encourage cooperation in higher education, research and innovation, including programmes and research projects as well as student and staff mobility between our institutions. There is great potential in the UK and Denmark joining efforts and seeking cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), public sector digitization, cyber, and quantum technologies such as sensing.

We will foster cooperation to innovate and commercialise new technology and promote the sustainable and safe application of emerging technologies such as AI, quantum technologies, 6G/Future Telecoms, engineering biology, blockchain, including in space, and the development of an environment conducive to research security.

Together we want to tackle shared challenges and accelerate development in key areas of human and planetary health, health and life sciences, anti-microbial resistance, climate science and the green transition.

We will strengthen our techplomacy dialogue on the foreign and security policy aspects of new and critical technologies, based on a shared vision of a responsible, democratic and secure technological future that delivers solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges, including through NATO’s DIANA.

We will work together to shape the global use and development of technologies through international regulations/governance and norms around our shared values and principles.

Recognising the importance of intellectual property rights as an incentive for innovative science and technology, we commit to ensuring a balanced and effective level of protection of intellectual property rights, including providing the means for enforcing such rights. To that end, we will also stand together in our support for the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Economic cooperation

Recognising the central contribution of free trade to global growth and the alleviation of global poverty, the UK and Denmark reaffirm our commitment to promote welfare and prosperity through economic openness, and our rejection of protectionism. We are stalwart in our support for the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its heart.

We will co-ordinate engagement and the exchange of information between our respective government institutions, regulators, companies, and civil society as needed in order to strengthen and foster bilateral economic cooperation, increase the volume of our bilateral trade and investment, and to discuss any bilateral obstacles which may hinder the development of economic and trade cooperation between Denmark and the UK.

We will expand and strengthen bilateral cooperation in maritime affairs through knowledge exchange and technical cooperation on maritime issues, including; maritime security, safety of navigation, maritime industries and maritime diplomacy.

In particular, we will identify opportunities to build closer economic links in key sectors including cyber and the digital economy, maritime economy, life sciences, research and development, technology, defence, energy, fisheries, agri-food and infrastructure. We will also identify opportunities for collaboration aimed at strengthening the resilience of critical supply chains.

Denmark and the United Kingdom have for many years been global front-runners on digital transformation of our public and private sectors and societies in general. We have been inspired by each other and over the years shared experiences on the strategic level.

We will continue the fruitful co-operation within the digital area and further strengthening our bilateral and multilateral co-operation and bilateral strategic sharing of experiences in the area of digital policy and transformation of our societies - including the important area of information security.

Migration

Recognising the challenges facing Europe from irregular migration, we note the need for close bilateral and UK-EU cooperation. We also recognise the importance of shared action to tackle the root causes and enablers of irregular migration upstream.

Sustainable development and humanitarian assistance

We will continue to support progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the promotion of peace, security, stability and open societies. We commit to working together on shared thematic or country priorities, and in response to humanitarian and development crises. In particular, we will seek to identify further opportunities to work together to promote and defend humanitarian principles, human rights, and democracy. We will promote civic space including freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, free media and vigorous civil societies in a digital era. We will give particular attention to diversity, equality and inclusion, with focus on women and girls, youth, peace and security, LGBT+ people, human rights defenders and preventing and condemning conflicted-related sexual violence, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Democracy and people-to-people

Denmark and the United Kingdom recognise the deep cultural connections and shared interests between the people of the 2 states.

To bring our societies closer, Denmark and the United Kingdom will endeavour to strengthen people-to-people links by exploring opportunities to enhance youth mobility and cultural exchange, including options for closer cooperation in relation to higher education, vocational education and training with a focus on mobility for apprentices.

Recognising the importance of voting and candidacy rights in local election of the citizens of each country, the UK and Denmark will explore options to preserve these rights for future generations of Danish citizens living in the UK and the citizens of the UK living in Denmark.

Faroe Islands

Recognising the competences of the Faroe Islands in areas where the Faroe Islands have assumed legislative and administrative responsibility within the constitutional framework of the Kingdom of Denmark, we encourage and support the further enhancement of the relations between the Government of the Faroe Islands and the UK through high-level political dialogue and relevant international agreements.

Greenland

Recognising the competences of Greenland in areas where Greenland have assumed legislative and administrative responsibility within the constitutional framework of the Kingdom of Denmark, we encourage and support the further enhancement of the relations between the Government of Greenland and the UK through high-level political dialogue and relevant international agreements.

Political dialogue

We commit to engage in regular bilateral dialogue at all levels. Both parties will aim to meet annually at ministerial level, underpinned by consultations at expert level across the areas identified in this Joint Statement, and overseen at official level by the Director Generals Europe.

Our Ambassadors and representatives of our respective foreign ministries will lead on the implementation of this Joint Statement, will coordinate further bilateral arrangements made under the framework of this Joint Statement and report progress to Ministers and senior officials.

This Joint Statement is not legally binding and does not give rise to any rights or obligations under domestic or international law.

Signed in London on 20 June 2023, in the English language.

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, James Cleverly

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Lars Løkke Rasmussen