Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 24, 2026
2 min readLast updated: March 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEU’s €150 billion SAFE defence fund, designed to boost European defence via joint procurement, may soon include the UK after earlier talks collapsed following London’s refusal to pay the requested €4–6.5 billion participation fee, though improved UK–EU relations and shared initiatives like the Ukrai
By Sudip Kar-Gupta
PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) - EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday he was confident Britain and the European Union would reach a deal on UK participation in the bloc’s multi‑billion‑euro SAFE defence fund, despite talks over the issue breaking down in November.
A British plan to join the original 150 billion euro ($174 billion) SAFE fund fell through after the government of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to pay a financial contribution to join.
However, Costa pointed to warmer ties between Britain and the EU, with Starmer consistently pushing for a post-Brexit 'reset' with the bloc as grounds for hope of a deal.
He also highlighted how Britain and France were jointly leading Ukraine's 'Coalition of the Willing' as a reason for why he believed a deal would be reached.
"The new Labour government has started the reset, and the reset is going well," Costa said in a speech at Paris' Sciences Po university.
"It could take some weeks, months, but for sure, we will achieve an agreement with the UK on the SAFE issue," he also said.
Last month, Starmer said his government would consider applying to join a second possible multi-billion-euro EU SAFE fund. Under the initiative, the EU jointly borrowed money on financial markets to lend to countries in the bloc for defence.
($1 = 0.8630 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by William Maclean)
The SAFE defence fund is a multi-billion-euro EU initiative where the bloc jointly borrows money on financial markets to lend to member countries for defence purposes.
The initial plan was abandoned after the UK government's refusal to pay a financial contribution required for participation.
EU Council President Costa cited warmer ties and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's push for a 'reset' in UK-EU relations as positive indicators.
Costa mentioned that it could take weeks or months but was confident an agreement would be achieved.
Yes, Prime Minister Starmer indicated that the UK might apply to join a second possible multi-billion-euro EU SAFE fund.
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