Talks for the United Kingdom to join the European Union’s new €150 billion SAFE defence fund collapsed on Friday, dealing a significant setback to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s efforts to rebuild relations with Brussels after Brexit. The breakdown ends months of negotiations aimed at strengthening defence cooperation and advancing what Starmer had described as a “new era” in the UK–EU partnership. The development was first reported by Reuters.
The SAFE fund, designed to support Europe’s rearmament and secure defence supply chains, was a cornerstone of Starmer’s plan to reset ties with the bloc. The May agreement that launched the diplomatic reset had given Britain the green light to negotiate participation in the programme, which is intended to run for seven years and mobilise around €150 billion in procurement.
But with only two days remaining before the deadline, the UK announced that talks had failed. Nick Thomas-Symonds, Britain’s minister for European Union Relations, said that while negotiators had acted “in good faith,” it had become clear that an agreement could not be reached in this first round of negotiations.
He noted that London would only sign deals that meet national-interest and cost-effectiveness criteria. “While it is disappointing that we have not been able to conclude discussions on UK participation in the first round of SAFE, the UK defence industry will still be able to participate in projects through SAFE on third-country terms,” Thomas-Symonds said.
Under the fund’s rules, procurement contracts require that no more than 35% of component costs originate outside the EU or eligible partners such as Ukraine. That threshold effectively limits Britain’s involvement to the role of an external partner unless a bespoke agreement is reached. Despite the collapse in talks, trading in shares of major UK defence companies BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock was largely unaffected.
An EU Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the details of the failed negotiations but said discussions had been “intense” and conducted “constructively and in good faith.” The spokesperson added that the fund is “open by design,” meaning Britain can still participate up to the 35% limit applied to non-member states. “We of course remain fully committed to delivering our ambitious UK-EU security and defence partnership,” the spokesperson said.
The setback underscores the lingering complexity of rebuilding defence and industrial ties after Brexit. While both sides say they remain committed to deeper cooperation, the collapse of SAFE negotiations raises questions about whether broader defence integration can advance without substantial compromises from London or Brussels.