Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the benefits of joining the European Union's £78 billion loan scheme for Ukraine outweigh the costs, as he used a summit in Armenia to begin talks on UK participation. Speaking at the European Political Community meeting, he acknowledged heightened tensions between the United States and Europe, particularly over defence and the war in Ukraine.
The UK's involvement would allow British defence firms to supply equipment to Kyiv in return for a financial contribution of up to £400 million, drawn from the £3 billion already ringfenced for Ukraine. Starmer argued that the scheme would also create jobs at home, stating: 'The benefit there outweighs the cost.'
However, the European Union expects the UK to go further by making an 'appropriate financial contribution' to EU budgets in exchange for greater market access. European leaders agreed in March that the UK would need to pay into European structural and investment funds for the first time since Brexit if it wishes to participate in the EU's single market for electricity. Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds confirmed a willingness to pay but dismissed a reported figure of £1 billion a year as incorrect.
Starmer is pushing for closer ties with the bloc on defence, security and the economy as part of his 'reset' with Brussels. He described Brexit as having 'damaged our economy' and stressed that Britain must be 'at the heart of a stronger Europe'. The prime minister and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have agreed to start talks on UK participation in an EU innovation fund ahead of a summit this summer.
