LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants the United Kingdom (UK) to join the European Union’s (EU) flagship 150bil (US$178bil) defence fund after negotiations last year ended in failure.
Britain had sought to participate in the first round of the security action for Europe programme or Safe which allows countries to apply for funding to purchase military equipment as the continent tries to collectively rearm in the face of Russian aggression.
However, in November the EU rejected the British bid for its defence companies to be able to benefit from the fund.
The European Commission had at one point wanted the UK to pay as much as 6.75bil to join, an amount London considered unacceptable.
“Whether it’s Safe or other initiatives, it makes good sense for Europe in the widest sense of the word – which is the EU plus other European countries – to work more closely together. That’s what I’ve been advocating and I hope to make some progress on that,” Starmer told reporters while visiting China and Japan this weekend.
“I do think on spend, capability and cooperation we need to do more together. I’ve made the argument and that should require us to look at schemes like Safe and others to see whether there is a way in which we can work more closely together,” the premier added. Starmer’s remarks came ahead of a series of meetings between senior UK and EU officials last week.
The bloc’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic will see Nick Thomas-Symonds, the British minister in charge of EU relations, for the annual meeting of the EU-UK partnership council here.
Sefcovic and EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis are also expected to meet UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Peter Kyle on the trip.
The breakdown of negotiations on Safe last year was seen by many in both Britain and the EU as a blow to Europe’s credibility on defence, as well as Starmer’s effort to reset post-Brexit relations with the bloc.
Some EU member states wanted the commission to offer Britain better terms, seeing UK participation as a positive for both sides as Europe contends with the threat from Russia amid fraying ties with President Donald Trump’s US administration.
Despite the failure to agree terms in November, the EU said at the time that it was open to further talks to try to come to an arrangement.
“Our door is always open for like-minded partners, especially the UK,” commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told reporters after the first round of talks failed.
If a deal is reached, British defence companies would be able to bid for contracts funded by Safe. Proponents of UK participation have argued that would be mutually beneficial, boosting the British defence industry while allowing the continent to more quickly increase its military capabilities. — Bloomberg
Bloomberg
