The UK and the EU are exploring new talks on defence cooperation, with Keir Starmer signalling a desire to “go further” in relations with Brussels. The EU’s trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, is due in London next week for discussions covering trade, energy and fisheries, but diplomatic sources said the UK is keen to restart defence negotiations as soon as possible.
Talks for the UK to join the EU’s €150bn Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence fund collapsed in November 2025 amid claims that the EU had set too high a price for entry. France has denied responsibility for the breakdown, but diplomatic sources say tension remains between Paris and other member states, particularly Germany, where sources have said they want the UK involved “as soon as possible”. One European source said France wanted to make UK participation conditional on London joining a second EU defence programme providing a €90bn loan to Ukraine, a move Germany does not support.
Sources in Brussels have admitted that the failure to agree terms was “an embarrassment” given that both sides had declared the prospect of “enhanced cooperation” through Safe at a summit hosted by Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen in May last year. However, there is understood to be greater appetite for a deal on all sides, especially since Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland and his criticism of Nato.
Speaking in Beijing on Friday, Starmer did not mention defence but stressed that the UK wants a closer relationship in areas beyond those already agreed on trade. He said the single market, rather than the customs union, was the focus for further progress, with possible extra deals on chemicals and cars, both of which face tariffs next year for non-electric vehicles. The UK is also negotiating details of a youth mobility scheme, with Starmer seeking a cap on numbers and fixed duration.
Stella Creasy, the Labour MP and chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, said there is growing recognition that the UK’s future lies in restoring a strong working relationship with Europe not just on defence but on national and economic security. Šefčovič will meet Nick Thomas-Symonds on Monday for the annual EU-UK Partnership Council, with defence not currently on the agenda, as the UK is understood to be prioritising progress on food and drink.
Further opportunities for defence discussions may arise at a Washington summit on critical minerals convened by Marco Rubio, with the Foreign Office sending a minister. One source close to the government said that while the UK was prepared to pay a certain amount, there was a huge gap between the parties, adding: “Europe needs the UK, so they thought this could all be revisited and fixed. The UK government is open to a second go but clearly if the EU came back with the same kind of price, it would raise questions.”
