London would gain access to defense deals funded by the scheme but must help cover financing costs, Brussels says<\/p>\n
The UK is considering\u00a0helping the the EU\u00a0to provide a\u00a0\u20ac90 billion ($105 billion) ‘loan’ to Ukraine to gain access to lucrative military contracts funded through the program.
\nThe plan was announced in a joint statement by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the European Political Community summit in Armenia on Monday.
\nThe so-called loan scheme, backed by joint EU borrowing, is structured on the assumption that it would be repaid if Kiev secures reparations from Russia, a prospect Moscow has dismissed as \u201cunrealistic.\u201d\u00a0By backing Brussels, London will gain access to the slew of military contracts the cash is expected to generate.
\nThe scheme was floated after plans to seize Russia\u2019s frozen sovereign assets failed, and was approved last month after a lengthy standoff with Hungary ended when pro-EU candidate Peter Magyar\u2019s Tisza party won the Hungarian election. The vast majority of the billions is for military spending, mostly on Western weapons.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Ukraine told to hike taxes to unlock Western aid \u2013 media<\/p>\n
Britain would need to cover part of the interest on the EU\u2019s borrowing, and in effect would contribute to financing the program in exchange for access to contracts. The commission said the UK\u2019s contribution would be calculated based on the value of contracts awarded.
\nStarmer hailed the potential deal as \u201cvery good for the UK,\u201d citing \u201ccapability that leads to jobs.\u201d Both London and Brussels pitched it as \u201ca major step forward in the EU-UK defense industrial relationship.\u201d
\nThe UK can reportedly take part on two conditions \u2013 if it maintains a Security and Defense Partnership with the EU, agreed last May, and if it continues significant financial and military support for Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Slovakia refuses to join EU loans for Kiev \u2013 Fico<\/p>\n
London has been one of Kiev\u2019s main backers, pledging \u00a321.8 billion ($29.5 billion) since 2022, over half of which is military budget. UK officials, including Starmer, have repeatedly used claims that Russia poses a threat to Europe \u2013 a notion Moscow dismisses as \u201cnonsense\u201d \u2013 to justify aid and increased domestic defense spending.
\nBritain as a key force behind the Ukraine conflict, according to Moscow, accusing it of direct involvement in Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian cities using UK-supplied weapons. Russian officials argued systems such as British Storm Shadow missiles cannot be used effectively without direct UK participation. Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry also listed European countries hosting drone production facilities for Kiev\u2019s forces, including sites in the UK.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: European \u2018propaganda\u2019 using Russia as \u2018external enemy\u2019 to mask crises \u2013 Kremlin<\/p>\n
Moscow has long described the conflict as a Western proxy war and condemned continued aid to Kiev, warning it undermines peace efforts. Commenting on the \u20ac90 billion scheme, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the EU of \u201cdigging into the pockets of its own taxpayers\u201d to prolong the conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London would gain access to defense deals funded by the scheme but must help cover financing costs, Brussels says The UK is considering\u00a0helping the the EU\u00a0to provide a\u00a0\u20ac90 billion ($105…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t