EU to exclude US, UK and Turkey from €150bn rearmament fund

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1. Arms companies from the US, UK and Turkey will be excluded from a new €150bn EU defence funding push unless their home countries sign defence and security pacts with Brussels.

   The planned fund for capitals to spend on weapons would only be open to EU defence companies and those from third countries that have signed defence agreements with the bloc, officials said on Wednesday.

   It would also exclude any advanced weapons systems upon which a third country had “design authority” — restrictions on its construction or use of particular components — or control over its eventual use, the officials added.

   EU member states would not be able to spend the money on products “where there can be a control on the use or the destination of that weapon . . . It would be a real problem if equipment acquired by countries cannot be used because a third country would object,” one of the officials said.

   The UK has lobbied hard to be included in the initiative, particularly given its key role in a European “coalition of the willing” aimed at bolstering the continent’s defence capabilities. UK defence companies, including BAE Systems and Babcock International, are deeply integrated into the defence industry of EU countries such as Italy and Sweden.

   If third countries such as the US, UK and Turkey wanted to participate in the initiative, they would need to sign a defence and security partnership with the EU, officials said.

   Talks between London and Brussels on such a pact have begun but have become embroiled in demands for a larger EU-UK agreement that would also include controversial issues such as fishing rights and migration.

   The exclusion of the UK and Turkey will create major headaches for big European defence companies with close ties to producers or suppliers in those markets.

   The move will cause significant consternation in Britain’s defence sector. One senior UK defence industry insider said it was a “considerable concern”, adding: “We see a huge amount of opportunity and it’s right the UK is seen as part of Europe. But if the EU — and especially France — is going to be transactional about this, it undermines the entire philosophy of a joint and unified Europe in defence and security terms.”

   Previous French efforts to ringfence defence spending for EU companies only have met with stiff resistance from countries such as Germany, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands that have close ties with non-EU defence producers.

   Under the terms of the plan, EU countries would be able to spend the loans on products using components from Norway, South Korea, Japan, Albania, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine, officials said.

2. Hopefully we can find an agreement with UK and Turkey. Excluding US is obvious…

3. Sounds reasonable!

4. Good! Protect the mainland.

5. I mean, obviously this is a net negative for the Turkish arms industry, but I couldn’t help but giggle when I read the title. Ten years ago nobody took Turkish defense products seriously. There was always some smug European dismissing these projects as nothing more than 3D renderings, vaporware that would never make it to production. And here we are, being mentioned alongside the big boys now.

6. What the bombastic headline omits is that all they have to do to get into the program is sign a defence and security agreement with the EU.

7. This is good news for France, Germany, Italy, Sweden etc

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