Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that the UK will begin negotiations to join the European Union's £78bn loan scheme for Ukraine, arguing that the benefits outweigh the costs. Speaking at the European Political Community summit in Armenia, Starmer said the move would also create jobs in Britain and strengthen European defence amid tensions with the United States over military issues.
Starmer acknowledged that relations between Donald Trump and Europe are strained, particularly regarding the Ukraine war. He stressed the need for European nations to bolster their own defence capabilities, noting that some alliances are not as reliable as they once were. 'We cannot deny that some of the alliances that we have come to rely on are not in the place we would want them to be,' he said.
If the UK joins the scheme, British defence firms could supply equipment to Ukraine in return for a financial contribution of up to £400m, drawn from the £3bn already ringfenced for Ukraine. However, the EU expects the UK to make further budget contributions in exchange for deeper market access, as part of Starmer's push for closer ties with the bloc on defence, security, and the economy.
The prime minister also agreed with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to begin talks on UK participation in an EU innovation fund. European leaders have indicated that the UK would need to pay into European structural and investment funds for the first time since Brexit if it wants to join the EU's single market for electricity. Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds confirmed the UK's willingness to make a financial contribution but dismissed reports of a £1bn annual payment as incorrect.
Starmer emphasised that Brexit has damaged the UK economy and that the national interest lies in being at the heart of a stronger Europe. The government is conducting an audit of sectors that could benefit from further integration, with cars, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals seen as priorities.
