The UK’s defence industry is calling for an urgent security and defence pact between Britain and the European Union ahead of a major summit in May, warning that failure to reach a deal could exclude British firms from a €150 billion EU defence funding instrument.
In a joint letter addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa, Britain’s leading aerospace, technology, and industry associations urged that a pact be made a central outcome of the upcoming UK-EU summit scheduled for May 19 in London.
The letter, signed by ADS (Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space trade association), the British Chambers of Commerce, and TechUK, emphasized that such an agreement would “foster a pragmatic and inclusive EU defence ecosystem,” and ensure the active involvement of UK firms in EU-led defence efforts.
“This would be a crucial step towards enhancing Europe’s collective security, industrial resilience, and global competitiveness,” the organisations wrote in the letter, seen by Euronews.
The appeal follows the European Commission’s launch of its “Readiness 2030” initiative, which aims to raise €800 billion for defence investment across the EU over the next four years. As part of that plan, €150 billion would be offered in loans through a European preference clause — prioritizing companies based within the EU or those from countries with an existing security agreement.
Currently, UK and Turkish companies risk being excluded unless their contribution to a defence project accounts for less than a third. In contrast, firms from Norway and Iceland — part of the EU’s single market — can fully participate.
Prime Minister Starmer, who took office last summer, has previously backed the idea of a comprehensive UK-EU defence pact focusing on joint R&D, military mobility, operational cooperation, and industrial collaboration.
However, striking such an agreement would require unanimous support from all 27 EU member states. Some, including France, have indicated they want to link defence cooperation to broader post-Brexit issues, including fishing rights, youth mobility, and regulatory alignment — a stance echoing the principle that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”
Peter Bell, Vice President of the British Chamber of Commerce EU, warned that “negotiations cannot be protracted by horse-trading on less critical issues,” citing Europe’s urgent security needs.
Kevin Craven, CEO of ADS, echoed the urgency: “The longer this process takes, the less likely we are to respond effectively to emerging security threats — despite having the capability, political will, and moral duty to do so.”
In response, the UK’s Cabinet Office confirmed that next month’s summit will address a range of issues and reaffirmed Britain’s willingness to negotiate a Security and Defence Partnership.
Meanwhile, other defence funding proposals are also emerging. Britain reportedly floated a rearmament fund involving joint EU-UK borrowing, while Poland proposed a European Defence Mechanism (EDM) to allow non-EU countries like the UK and Switzerland to participate in defence-related lending.
The European Commission had not commented publicly at the time of publication.
