LONDON: Britain should “do more together” with the EU on defence, including through a bloc-wide initiative to bolster arms stocks that London has not yet joined, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said. 

The comments follow talks for London to access the 150-billion-euro (US$174 billion) European Union rearmament loan scheme ending in failure last year amid disagreement over the entry fee.

On the sidelines of a visit to China this week, Starmer told reporters he remained open to exploring closer cooperation.

“I do think that both on spending, on capability and cooperation … we need to do more together,” the UK leader said.

“I have made the argument that that should require us to look at schemes like SAFE and others, to see whether there isn’t a way in which we can work more closely together.”

European nations have scrambled to boost their militaries since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Brussels launching the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) lending initiative in response.

Created to provide EU countries with loans at lower rates to help them rearm, London and Brussels wrangled for months over the level of contribution Britain would make to join but failed to seal a deal.

It was a setback in Starmer’s bid to rebuild post-Brexit relations with the EU since winning power in July 2024, hoping to fire up Britain’s insipid economy.