Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what engagement he has had with his EU counterparts since the end of the transition period on the UK's co-operation with EU partners on Russian espionage in Europe.

It is the long-standing policy of the Government not to comment on intelligence matters.

The EU continues to be an important partner. As the Prime Minister said in the House of Commons on 30th December, 'we are going to become a friendly neighbour - the best friend and ally the EU could have - working hand-in-glove whenever our values and interests coincide while fulfilling the sovereign wish of the British people to live under their own laws, made by their own elected Parliament'.

2021 is an exciting year for the UK - with our G7, COP26 and UN Security Council Presidencies. We look forward to working with all our partners, including the EU, to tackle the biggest challenges of our time: from the global recovery from Covid-19 to turning the tide on climate change, where we are working notably with Italy as our COP26 partner. We will also continue working with EU partners on key foreign policy files such as Iran and Libya.