FEATURED COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

UK Considering Shrinking Army to 60,000, Says Former Minister

New Atlanticist
May 27, 2025

British ambassador to the US: The UK must ‘become less dependent on America, while remaining inseparably linked’

By
Peter Mandelson

In speaking at the Atlantic Council’s 2025 Christopher J. Makins Lecture, Peter Mandelson outlined how the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe can foster peace through military, economic, and technological strength.

Conflict
Defense Industry

UK Considering Shrinking Army to 60,000, Says Former Minister

New Atlanticist
May 15, 2025

Can the EU-UK summit lead to a new post-Brexit partnership?

By
Ed Owen

With shared challenges at home and abroad, the United Kingdom and European Union have an opportunity to renew their trade and security ties.

Defense Industry
Economy & Business

UK Considering Shrinking Army to 60,000, Says Former Minister

New Atlanticist
Jan 27, 2025

The case for a US-UK trade and investment agreement

By
L. Daniel Mullaney

As US President Donald Trump begins his second term, the United Kingdom is the right partner for the United States, and now is the right time for a deal.

Economy & Business
Politics & Diplomacy

Featured Event

Public Event
Tue, May 27, 2025 • 9:00 am ET

The Rt Hon Lord Mandelson on Britain in an enduring transatlantic relationship

British Ambassador to the United States The Rt Hon Lord Mandelson speaks at the 2025 Christopher J. Makins lecture to discuss the significance of the transatlantic relationship during this unprecedented geopolitical period.

Economy & Business
Europe & Eurasia
Politics & Diplomacy
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The Europe Center promotes the transatlantic leadership and strategies required to ensure a strong Europe.

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Content

Paratroopers training in Northumberland, Dec. 2, 2014

NATOSource

Jan 20, 2015

UK Considering Shrinking Army to 60,000, Says Former Minister

By Ben Farmer, Telegraph

Ministry of Defence officials are examining cutting the British Army to just 60,000 soldiers, a former coalition defence minister has claimed.

NATO Security & Defense
Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama, Jan. 16, 2015

NATOSource

Jan 16, 2015

David Cameron ‘Endangering Special Relationship with America’ by not Protecting Defense Spending

By Ben Riley-Smith, Telegraph

David Cameron will damage Britain’s special relationship with America if he fails to keep defence spending above 2 per cent of GDP, the UK’s former defence attaché in Washington DC has warned.

NATO Security & Defense
British Prime Minister David Cameron and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Oct. 29, 2011

NATOSource

Jan 12, 2015

Canada Rebuffs Call To Join British-Led NATO-UN Force

By Murray Brewster, Canadian Press

Canada has quietly rebuffed a call from Britain to join a multi-national expeditionary force that Prime Minister David Cameron’s government was promoting in light of heightened tensions with Russia.

International Organizations NATO
HMS Ambush, July 15, 2013

NATOSource

Jan 9, 2015

Britain Again Forced to Ask US For Help in Tracking ‘Russian Submarine’

By Victoria Ward, Telegraph

The Ministry of Defence has again been forced to call for US military assistance to help track a suspected Russian submarine spotted off the Scottish coast.

Russia United Kingdom
USAF KC-135Es at RAF Mildenhall, March 20, 2003

NATOSource

Jan 8, 2015

US Announces it Will Close 15 Military Bases in Europe

By Department of Defense

The Department of Defense announced today the consolidation of some U.S. infrastructure in Europe, including the return of 15 sites to their host nations.

Europe & Eurasia Germany
British soldiers in Afghanistan, Aug. 12, 2014

NATOSource

Jan 5, 2015

Britain May Cut Defense Spending Below NATO 2% Target

By Rosa Prince, Telegraph

A future Conservative government could cut spending on the Armed Forces to below two per cent of the country’s budget, David Cameron has admitted.

NATO Security & Defense

Defense Industrialist

Dec 18, 2014

Devolving the Excesses of Jointness

By James Hasik

  Should the US follow the UK’s lead by seeking smaller scale in defense? On Wednesday afternoon the Atlantic Council hosted a talk by Philip Dunne, the British Minister for Defence Equipment, Support, and Technology—the MinDEST. As he himself noted, Dunne is Whitehall’s equivalent of the Pentagon’s Frank Kendall, the Under Secretary of Defense for […]

United Kingdom

Event Recap

Dec 17, 2014

Britain’s Choice: In or Out? A Conversation with Hugo Dixon

By Atlantic Council

On Tuesday, December 16, 2014, the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Relations Program hosted Reuters editor-at-large Hugo Dixon for a discussion of the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union. The talk, entitled “Britain’s Choice: In or Out?” and moderated by Transatlantic Relations director Fran Burwell, examined domestic and international considerations surrounding a potential referendum in the […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union
Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, July 18, 2009

NATOSource

Dec 9, 2014

Britain Forced to Ask NATO to Help Track ‘Russian Submarine’ in Scottish Waters

By Ben Farmer, Telegraph

Britain called in Nato sea patrol planes to hunt for a suspected Russian submarine off Scotland last month, after the Government scrapped its own similar aircraft in defence cuts, it has been disclosed.

France NATO
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at foreign ministers meeting, December 2, 2014

NATOSource

Dec 2, 2014

NATO Struggles to Muster ‘Spearhead Force’ to Counter Russia

By Stephen Fidler, Wall Street Journal

Promised Rapid-Reaction Force Proves Costly, Logistically Difficult for Europe.

NATO Russia
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Giovana Cardoso

Assistant Director, Development

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Brazil Human Rights

Fellow

Deborah Cheverton

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Defense Industry

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Robert Bassett Cross MC

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Industry Defense Policy

Fellow

Jason Davidson

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Europe & Eurasia European Union

Staff

Philippe Dickinson

Deputy Director

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Chinese East Asia

Executive Leadership Intensive participant

Katerina Elias-Trostmann

Director, Climate & Nature for Latin America, Salesforce

Millennium Leadership Program

Brazil Climate Change & Climate Action
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