European Council President António Costa expressed confidence that London and Brussels will reach an agreement on UK participation in the EU’s multi-billion euro SAFE defence fund. He made the statement during a speech at Sciences Po university in Paris on Tuesday.
Despite the collapse of negotiations in November last year after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government refused to make a financial contribution to the €150 billion fund, Costa noted positive dynamics, saying the post-Brexit ‘reset’ of relations is progressing well. ‘It may take a few weeks or months, but we will definitely reach an agreement with the United Kingdom on SAFE,’ he emphasized.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had previously confirmed that his cabinet would consider the possibility of participating in a second similar fund. The SAFE initiative envisages joint EU borrowing on financial markets to provide loans to participating states for defence needs.
