Negotiations soon to begin on UK’s entry to Safe scheme, which it hopes will secure bigger role for its defence firms
France has proposed limiting the use of British-produced military components in the EU’s €150bn defence fund, in a move that could complicate negotiations over the UK’s entry into the scheme.
Four diplomatic sources told the Guardian that French officials had proposed a 50% ceiling on the value of UK components in projects financed through the EU’s €150bn Security Action for Europe (Safe) fund.
The €150bn loans scheme is part of the EU’s drive to boost defence spending by €800bn and re-arm the continent. The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, lauded the scheme on Tuesday, telling an audience of policymakers in Brussels that the commission had assigned loans to member states in less than six months since the idea was first mooted – “the sense of urgency we need”.
The door to greater UK participation was pushed open in May when Keir Starmer and von der Leyen signed an EU-UK security and defence partnership. Without this pact, the UK could never supply more than 35% of the value of components of any Safe-funded project.
