Defence industry heads to be quizzed by Lords Committee as part of its inquiry into UK-EU reset
Friday 21 February 2025
As part of its ongoing inquiry into the UK-EU reset, on Tuesday 25 February at 4pm the European Affairs Committee will hold the first of a series of evidence sessions considering security and defence matters.
This session will focus on defence industry issues, and the Committee will hear from representatives of three major defence firms in the UK.
The witnesses are:
- Phil Siveter, UK CEO, Thales
- Oriel Petry, Head of Public Affairs, Airbus UK
- Jason Alderwick, Director of UK Government and Political Affairs, MBDA UK
Areas of questioning are likely to include:
- The implications for the UK, as a non-Member State, of the EU’s growing role in defence industrial policy
- Whether recent policy shifts by the new US Administration on Ukraine and European security are likely to affect the EU debate about defence industrial cooperation with non-EU countries
- Whether and how greater UK access to EU defence industry initiatives might bring added value, to the UK and to the wider European defence industry
- Whether defence industry cooperation should be included in the UK-EU security pact that the Government is seeking
- The relationship between the UK-EU reset in the defence and security sphere and the UK’s bilateral defence and security agreements with EU Member States.
The session will take place in Committee Room 3 at the Houses of Parliament and can be watched live, or later, on Parliament TV.
