Euroviews. Lammy and Borrell: Our actions have greater force when EU and UK speak with one voice

Homes reduced to rubble. Families torn apart. Innocent civilians killed or forced to flee, seeking sanctuary from hellish conditions.

Such scenes feel like they should belong in the history books. But from Kyiv to Gaza City, Beirut to El Fasher, they are the reality of today’s volatile world.

Faced with such suffering, we both feel a moral imperative to act. But we both also firmly believe that citizens of Europe cannot afford to treat these conflicts as somebody else’s problem.

With more conflicts ongoing today than at any time since World War II, the EU and the UK have a direct interest in greater stability. Security and justice are global.

They do not concern only those countries or regions immediately affected. Insecurity damages our prosperity — with conflicts worldwide knocking almost $1 trillion (€913bn) off the global economy last year.

Both the United Kingdom and the European Union are heavily engaged in responding to conflicts and crises. But we are always stronger when we work together to tackle these challenges.

This is all the more obvious for friends and neighbours, united by our shared values as well as our mutual interest in greater global stability.

Yet there is still more for us to do to strengthen UK-EU cooperation in defence and security to make it as deep or extensive as you would expect for two partners with so much in common.

At times, even with the privilege of our positions, we both can feel powerless to prevent so much of the suffering around the world. But we do have the power to determine how we work together. We are choosing to stand together in partnership.

Today, on the occasion of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, with the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states, we will discuss how