The Ministry of Defence says the government is assessing whether participation in the EU’s new defence industrial scheme would deliver benefits for the UK, after Conservative MP David Reed asked about the economic impact of missing out on the first tranche of Security Action for Europe (SAFE) projects.
Defence minister Luke Pollard said the UK’s exclusion stemmed from the post-Brexit deal struck by the previous government, which “did not include UK participation in Security Action For Europe”.
He argued that the current government’s diplomatic reset with Brussels has reopened the door, adding that the UK is now “able to explore participation”.
Pollard stressed that cooperation talks form part of a wider effort to deepen the UK’s security relationship with the EU. He said London is working to implement commitments from the recent UK-EU summit and to build on the new Security and Defence Partnership. That includes discussion of a bilateral participation agreement covering SAFE projects.
He said the MoD is working with the Treasury, the Department for Business and Trade and the Cabinet Office, as well as industry and European partners, to shape the UK’s position. The goal, he said, is to strengthen Europe’s defence industrial capacity and sustain equipment flows to Ukraine.
Pollard declined to comment on the detail of negotiations and reiterated that the government will only sign up if any deal “provided value to the UK and UK industry”.
So Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands all want the UK to have access. This was actually signed and part of the recently announced security and intelligence sharing deal with the Federalised superstate that is the EU.
France however wish to levy a £6.5-8 billion charge for the UKs right to bid for, not win, EU contracts from the £150 billion EU rearmament funding programme.
Doesn’t seem like a good use of tax payers money and likely totally unpalletabile too UK electorate at a time when we are about to be given a massive tax rise instead of cutting the welfare bill.
Ah the EU. They keep giving good arguments for the UK to leave them behind and get closer to the US and the commonwealth
Yep 44% of the EU population live in a country with more than 100% debt to gdp. France is one of them. They have no money so they concoct this EU cartel nonsense to charge us. They will soon squeal if we refuse to help them. All countries in NATO should be free to bid for contracts. The EU is basically undermining that unity.
The UK is also at the 100%+ bracket, and remind me how easy it is for European companies to bid for US defence contracts against US companies?
Not quite. Right now the UK can bid, but they can only get 35% of the contract, as for most countries outside the EU. But France want £5b and in return they’ll up the limit to 50%.
No brainer. If it makes financial, industrial and security sense the UK should join and pay the joining fee, given that the EU fund is financed by its members.
A better agreement would be 3-5% percent of all the business we obtain.
That will give incentives for increased cooperation.