Britain must pay to join a European Union defence fund, according to reports. The UK and the EU are set to sign a wider security deal at a summit in London next month as part of Sir Keir Starmer's Brexit "reset".
But a second agreement will be required before British companies will be able to bid for the new €150 billion EU defence fund, according to diplomats and officials involved in the negotiations. An EU diplomat told the Financial Times: “The pact is a nonbinding instrument. The more difficult hurdle is going to be a bilateral agreement that would include a financial contribution."
A second added: “To get your industry in the game, you need a second agreement. The commission will negotiate that, and will first look at what each country has to offer.
“Of course, the French will try to complicate it for the Brits. I imagine that there will be some form of [financial] contribution involved.”
A third EU diplomat said: “The actual effective association to the programme requires a specific arrangement. We need to discuss the rules, what contribution and so on.”
A senior European Commission official confirmed that it would require London to pay, but it was unclear if it was a small administration fee or something larger.
It comes after the Prime Minister welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Number 10 yesterday ahead of the UK-EU summit on May 19.
A Downing Street spokesperson described Thursday's meeting as "long and productive", covering areas including Ukraine, energy security, the global economy and defence.
They said: "Discussing the ongoing negotiations to strengthen the UK-EU partnership, they both agreed that good progress had been made.
"They asked their teams to continue their important work in the coming weeks, with the aim of delivering as ambitious a package as possible at the first UK-EU summit next month.
"The Prime Minister was clear that he will seize any opportunity to improve the lives of working people in the United Kingdom, drive growth and keep people safe - and he believes a strengthened partnership between the UK and the EU will achieve this."
