UK-EU cyber dialogue strengthens policy alignment

Cyber policy coordination between the UK and EU advanced with talks on legislation, capacity building and industry compliance under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

UK and EU officials met in Brussels to strengthen cybersecurity cooperation, align cyber legislation, counter cybercrime and agree on continued dialogue under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The third UK-EU Cyber Dialogue was held in Brussels on 9 and 10 December 2025, bringing together senior officials under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement to strengthen cooperation on cybersecurity and digital resilience.

The meeting was co-chaired by Andrew Whittaker from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Irfan Hemani from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, alongside EU representatives from the European External Action Service and the European Commission.

Officials from Europol and ENISA also participated, reinforcing operational and regulatory coordination rather than fragmented policy approaches.

Discussions covered cyber legislation, deterrence strategies, countering cybercrime, incident response and cyber capacity development, with an emphasis on maintaining strong security standards while reducing unnecessary compliance burdens on industry.

Both sides confirmed that the next UK-EU Cyber Dialogue will take place in London in 2026.

Would you like to learn more about AI, tech and digital diplomacy? If so, ask our Diplo chatbot!