London Backs Down from Joining EU Defense Fund Plan
According to the English section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and the British newspaper Financial Times, negotiations between London and Brussels for the UK’s participation in the European Union’s $150 billion defense fund have failed. Europe is now moving forward with its plan to strengthen its defense capabilities without British involvement.
The report states that EU ambassadors rejected London’s financial offer of approximately $215 million to join the “European Security Compact” fund. This figure falls far short of the $2.16 billion requested by the EU for membership in this mechanism.
This fund is a key part of Europe’s defense restructuring initiative, aimed at increasing defense budgets and enabling joint arms procurement among European countries.
The breakdown in talks was announced just days after a private and “tense” meeting between Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg. Informed sources described their discussion as difficult, emphasizing that disagreements over financing contributions to the European Security Compact were one of their main issues.
Russia has repeatedly stated it poses no threat to any country. It accuses Western politicians of making unfounded claims about a “Moscow threat” as an attempt to divert public attention from internal problems.
