British soldiers in Gao, Mali, December 15, 2019 (Photo: AFP/VNA)

As one of Europe’s strongest military powers, Britain has been central to European security, but EU and British negotiators agreed in March, 2018, that Britain could not continue to take part in EU missions after leaving the EU.

Spain and Italy have agreed to take a larger role in the EU’s 17 peacekeeping and training operations around the world.

In 2016, after British voters approved Brexit, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Britain's position in that alliance would be "unchanged".