LONDON — The EU wants to work more closely with the U.K. on defense. That doesn’t mean the bloc is going to make it easy for the Brits.
In London last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared alongside a smiling Keir Starmer to unveil a wide-ranging deal as part of the British leader’s mission to “reset” relations with the EU.
While much was made of extended access for EU fishing vessels to British waters and looser border controls, a heavily advertised security and defense pact contained fewer solid guarantees.
The document declared that the “U.K. and the EU share a responsibility for the security of Europe” and pledged closer coordination on support for Ukraine as well as joined-up thinking on everything from ships to space rockets.
Only now can discussions begin on the separate prize of British participation in joint purchases as part of the EU’s €150 billion defense fund known as Security Action for Europe (SAFE), through which countries can borrow to buy military gear.
The two sides will now prepare for yet more negotiations and an entirely separate agreement.
While von der Leyen raised hopes that a further deal could be reached “within weeks,” there are several hurdles to clear first, including some ill will from the U.K.’s adversaries in previous Brexit battles.
Any expectation of an imminent deal already appears to be on shaky ground, according to multiple officials in London and Brussels who were granted anonymity to discuss ongoing talks.
Sticking points
Ben Jones, a fellow in European foreign policy at King’s College London, described the partnership as “significant” but warned it was “long on principles and short on concrete commitments, particularly on the defense industrial side, and there will be plenty of hard bargaining to come.”
The 27 EU nations have yet to agree a mandate for taking forward the next stage of talks, with governments divided over how much they should cooperate with external allies on procurement.
Anne Fort, deputy head of cabinet for defense at the European Commission, told a defense conference in London Friday: “If we want the industry to be part of SAFE … we will also have to define a financial contribution that the U.K. will have to make.”
The U.K. will also need to say whether it wants both big companies and smaller suppliers to be allowed to take part, she said.
A second senior EU defense official confirmed that discussions would now center on the U.K.’s level of contributions to the SAFE budget, and a 35 percent cap applied to components produced outside the EU.
In a more favorable outcome for London, the 35 percent limit could be varied in order to make it more attractive to participate in the program. If the EU takes a tougher line, the U.K. would not only have to accept the cap on parts, but its participation could be limited to project-specific borrowing.
One diplomat from an EU country was adamant the fund should not be used by London to strengthen only U.K. companies, meaning that a way must be found for U.K. bids to help strengthen EU firms, as the deal should work both ways.
A British official said the U.K. wanted to “move swiftly” as soon as the EU had agreed a position.
Brexit wounds
That may not be easy. The terms offered to the U.K. have yet to be pinned down, partly because of splits within the EU over how Britain should be treated.
A second EU diplomat said there was “undoubtedly” a generation of Brexit veterans from European countries who had been part of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement process “who don’t want to make life easy for the U.K.”
However, he added, others took “a more pragmatic approach” due to the “urgency of the moment,” with war in Ukraine and the U.S. pulling back from its role in defending Europe.
French officials had emerged from the broader reset negotiations particularly pleased with their win on fishing rights, said one former French diplomat, and would now “push to limit access” to the EU defense fund.
Despite the hurdles ahead, both sides are optimistic of finding a way forward — with profit and principles at stake.
France is widely seen as one of Britain’s harshest interlocutors, yet many French companies have supply chains which run through the U.K., and the largest French arms producer, BAE Systems, is based in London.
Expanding SAFE would also represent a concrete piece of action to match the warm words offered by the EU and the U.K. on bolstering their military capabilities and demonstrating their resolve to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Andy Start, the U.K.’s national armaments director, said: “We have to get real … There is not sufficient engineering effort or money or resources for us to be able to compete with the likes of China unless we do it together.”
For now, the will to strike a deal remains much clearer than how to do so.
Jacopo Barigazzi in Brussels and Clea Caulcutt in Paris contributed to this report.
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