EU and UK in talks about Europe-wide defence funding amid fear of US pullback

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Britain will join the leaders of the European Union in leading talks about the creation of defense financing arrangements in Europe, as the continent is struggling to strengthen the military amid fears of an American security blanket that disappears.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will hold talks with other European financial ministers at a group of 20 group in Cape Town this week, with the war entering Ukraine fourth year.
“It can be a box or bank. For example, there is a concept Transfer the bankPolish Finance Minister Andre Domsky, what we also think.
“Without Great Britain, it is difficult to imagine the defense of Europe,” Domantec told the Financial Times.
The UK Treasury confirmed that Reeves “will submit the defense financing proposals with its European counterparts” in the Group of Twenty, but said that the talks were at an early stage.
Donald Trump called on European NATO allies to increase defensive spending to 5 percent of GDP, from a current goal of 2 percent that some still do not reach, or risk loss of American protection.
The rapid re -participation of the American President with Russia, a country that most European countries consider an existential threat, has sparked feverish discussions on how to collectively strengthen the defense capabilities of Europe and reduce dependence on American forces and weapons.

Sunday The upcoming advisor in Germany, Ferdrich Mirz She announced that Germany was mainly formed to reshape its security arrangements and end the decades’ dependence on Washington, saying that Trump was “largely indifferent” to the fate of Europe and the necessary continent “to achieve independence.”
The collective European defense spending was widely discussed during a call this weekend between European Commission President Ursula von der Lynn and UK Prime Minister Kiir Starmer, and a separate invitation between von der Lynn and Prime Minister Norway Jonas Juna Surter, according to a person who was aware of the discussions.
European countries are looking for ways to increase defense capabilities at a time of the tightly restricted national budgets. By taking advantage of national guarantees, the bank will allow countries to increase spending without increasing their compatible budgets.
The UK is looking for ways to increase defense spending from 2.3 percent of GDP to 2.5 percent, which costs at least 5 billion pounds annually, at a time when its ability to enhance the expenditures bound by its self -imposed financial rules.

Among the proposals, one of General Sir Nick Carter, former President of the British Army, who proposed a “armament bank” to take advantage of the savings gathering in Europe, along the lines of the European Bank for Reinstitting and Development – the lender that was prepared after the fall of the iron curtain to support Central and Eastern Europe .
“Those who are interested in it,” said a person involved in discussions with the Reeves team. However, Treasury officials said that there are many multilateral financing models on the table and that Reeves had an open mind on the following steps.
Experts said Reeves’s benefit from the Carter Silver Bank is that it will reduce the impact of additional defensive spending on financial rules.
“This bank has the ability to raise” great defense resources without materially affecting the financial rules. He added: “This is not a specific result: the details are important in terms of how to organize the entity and how it used its lending ability.”
The European Union leaders will discuss in late March the joint defense needs, and the goal of Poland is to make progress in funding needs in European Union’s financial ministers gathering in April, before a decision by leaders in June.
The European Commission said this month that it would partially raise the financial rules of the European Union to allow countries to invest in defense, a step that allows countries to borrow without penalties.
Von Der Leyen opened the door to “joint European financing” in joint defense projects, and financing options are expected to clarify in March.
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2025-02-24 19:19:00