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Sir Keir Starmer has declared he will reconsider joining an EU rearmament scheme, in spite of talks breaking down last year when France was among the nations demanding an “onerous” entry fee.
Britain decided to stay out of the first round of the original €140bn defence fund last November when the EU insisted on a UK entry fee running to around €2bn.
But Starmer said he would look again at taking Britain into any second round of the so-called Security Action for Europe fund (SAFE) if it was in the national interest. The scheme involves the EU using its balance sheet to back cheap loans to member states for defence projects.
Speaking during a visit to China and Japan, he said: “Europe, including the UK, needs to do more on security and defence. That’s an argument I’ve been making for many months now with European leaders.
“I do think on spend, capability and co-operation we need to do more together,” he added. “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.”
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on a visit to China and Japan, backed the idea of greater defence co-operation with Europe © Kin Cheung/AP
If Britain were to join a future round of SAFE, it would allow its defence companies to supply up to 50 per cent of a collaborative project with other European countries — the current limit for non-participants is 35 per cent — and to lead projects.
Some Brussels officials expect tentative discussions about the idea to arise when UK and EU ministers and officials meet on Monday to discuss the “reset” of relations, including closer trade ties.
A European Commission spokesman refused to “speculate” on whether there would be a second round of SAFE and British officials said they would consider other ways of deepening UK-EU defence co-operation.
The FT reported last November that Brussels had put a €2bn price tag on the UK taking part in the loan guarantee scheme, while Britain offered about £200mn, creating a significant gap.
French defence minister Catherine Vautrin told the FT last month that although France appreciated how Starmer had strengthened defence co-operation, particularly the so-called “coalition of the willing” to back Ukraine, the French position remained unchanged.
“They chose to leave Europe with Brexit, and so I spoke with John [Healey, the British defence minister], who was telling me that the conditions are very onerous. I said, ‘Yes, but John, you’re not in the EU anymore, are you?’” said Vautrin.
“It’s a trade-off between the two. At one point they made a choice, and unfortunately that choice has consequences.”
The French position has confounded allies, who say it undercuts efforts for Europe to wean itself off US weapons by boosting its own industry as quickly as possible, a strategic imperative that Paris has pushed.
Germany and Italy were among countries frustrated by the French stance towards British participation. The UK has a strong defence sector and having access to SAFE would likely create export opportunities, while France is the world’s second-biggest arms exporter after the US.
Senior ministers from both sides, including EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and UK business secretary Peter Kyle, will meet in London on Monday for the annual Partnership Council to manage post-Brexit relations.
Top of the agenda will be turbocharging the EU-UK “reset” that was agreed at a summit in London in May 2025 to improve trade relations, including removing border checks of food and plant products and relinking the EU and UK carbon-pricing schemes.
But significant gaps remain over the “Youth Experience Scheme” for 18-30 year-olds which Brussels has repeatedly warned is a must-have component of any deal.
UK business leaders were told at a meeting with UK officials last week that gaps remained both over the overall size of any scheme and the range of activities eligible, according to two people present.
EU member states are also continuing to insist on a return to “home” level tuition fees for European students coming to study in the UK, which the UK government has repeatedly ruled out and UK universities say is not affordable.
EU and UK officials said the UK side was pushing for a second “reset” summit as early as May, at which Starmer says he hopes to map out new areas for future co-operation.
But two EU officials familiar with discussions said that this timetable looked “optimistic” given the remaining gaps between the two sides.