伙伴关系理事会第四次会议

London, in-person and online 2 February 2026, 12 midday to 1:30pm GMT 1. Opening remarks and adoption of the agenda and The UK co-Chair, Rt Hon Nick Thomas–Symonds MP, Paymaster General andMinister for the Cabinet Office (Minister for the Constitution and European UnionRelations), opened the meeting and noted that the relationship between the UK andthe EU had continued to strengthen since the third Partnership Council (PC) meetingin May 2024. He noted the wide range of work topics covered by the Specialised The EU co-Chair, Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and EconomicSecurity and Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, noted that since the EU-UK Summit, both teams have been working on delivering the renewed agenda. Heunderscored the importance of the full, timely and faithful implementation of the The agenda was adopted. 2. TCA Implementation Deliverables since the last meeting of the Partnership Council Both Parties acknowledged the generally positive implementation of the TCA to date,with the EU noting that the TCA remained the most ambitious agreement of its kindbetween the EU and a third country. The UK welcomed the progress towards itsassociation to the Erasmus+ programme from 2027, and ongoing work on areas CooperationAgreement later that month(February 2026),which the EUacknowledged,and noted that the Agreement underlined the importance of The EU welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on Erasmus+ association, noted thelaunch of negotiations on ETS linkage and a common SPS area, and recalled the JointStatement of December 2025 which statedthe aim to conclude negotiations on the The EU reported progress on all seven deliverables agreed at the 2024 PartnershipCouncil, with four finalised and three close to finalisation. The agreement on theCompetition Cooperation Agreement was finalised and awaiting signature. On energy,the EU noted that the Working Group on Security of Supply had been established andhad met three times in 2025 and that exploratory discussions on the potential electricityagreementwere concluded. The EU also noted continued work on exchanges of Initiatives adopted following the EU–UK Summit within the scope of the TCA, On fisheries, the UK noted that the fisheries access deal provided a predictable long-term framework for fishing fleets on both sides. The UK also noted its £360 millionFishing and Coastal Growth Fund to revitalise the UK’s fleet, and said the forthcomingSPS agreement would slash red tape for seafood exports. The EU noted that the Onenergy,the UK highlighted the positive work of the relevant SpecialisedCommittee, particularly on areas such as electricity trading, new technologies, andsecurity of supply. The UK referenced ambitious commitments from the North SeaSummit in Hamburgand noted the extension of the TCA's energy chapter beyond itsscheduled end date. The UK confirmed the commitment to continued technical The UK raised the issue of seed potatoes, stating that the resumption of seed potatotrade to the EU (banned since 2021) remained a priority. The UK stressed theimportance of resuming trade as soon as possible following the positive draft auditreport inautumn 2025. The EU acknowledged the importance of the seed potato issue, Cathode Active Materials (CAM) guidance The UK stressed the shared ambition on the green transition, including increasing themanufacture and take-up of electric vehicles. The UK emphasised the automotivesector's need for agreed guidance and clarity ahead of rule changes in 2027, which would support industry in making investment decisions. The UK welcomed the EU’sdraft of the joint guidance, and looked forward to technical exchanges to agree the Review under Article 776 of the TCA The UK noted the commitment under Article 776 to undertake a joint review of theimplementation of the TCA five years after its entry into force (this year). The UKacknowledged that both sides had undertaken implementation reviews and that aspart of thereview, work was currently underway, and in some cases already completed The EUpointed to the regular reviews of implementation carried out by the TCA’s jointbodies, as well as the European Commission’s annual reports on the functioning ofthe TCA, which both concluded that the overall implementation of the TCA had beensmooth. It also noted that the basic assessment from stakeholders, including the 3. Cyber Security Cooperation Cooperation on cyber issues in line with Articles 704–707 of the TCA The UK highlighted that cooperation through the UK-EU Cyber dialogue had beenpositive, with the third meeting taking place in December 2025. The UK stressed themutual benefit of strengthening the partnership through Articles 704-707 of the TCA,and suggested that UK participation in the NIS Cooperation Group would ensure The EU agreed that cyber security was a key shared priority-noting the similar cybersecurity threat assessments and legislative approaches of the EU and UK as well asth