Arms companies from the US, UK and Turkey will be excluded from the European Unionʼs new €150 billion rearmament fund if their countries do not sign defense and security agreements with Brussels.
This is reported by the Financial Times (FT).
That is, money from the fund will be spent only on European defense companies and companies from countries that have signed defense agreements with the bloc.
Europe wants to have more control over its defense production, so it has decided not to use weapons that are influenced by third countries, such as the United States. This means that systems like the American Patriot will not be able to be part of European defense projects, because the United States controls their use.
In fact, this is a victory for France and other countries that have called for investing all the money in European defense. It is also related to growing concerns about the unreliability of the US as a defense partner due to the policies of Donald Trump. This is important because if, say, the US were to ban the use of certain weapons in certain conflicts, this could limit Europeʼs defense capabilities.
The EU decided that most of the money for defense products — 65% — should remain within Europe, namely in EU countries, Norway, and Ukraine.
The UK is trying to become part of this initiative, as its companies are already deeply integrated into the European defence market. But this would require a formal agreement with the EU and the signing of a defence partnership agreement. So if Britain or Turkey were to remain outside the EU defence initiative, it would create difficulties for European defence companies that work closely with British and Turkish manufacturers and suppliers.
The EU and the UK have already begun talks on a defence partnership. But they have become complicated because the EU wants to include other controversial topics in the deal, such as fisheries and migration.
“We are ready to work together on a European defense industry in the interests of wider European security, to prevent the fragmentation of European defense markets,” a British official said in a comment to the FT.
Previous attempts by France to limit defense spending by EU companies have been criticized in Germany, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands, countries that have close ties to defense manufacturers outside the EU.
The plan, which must be approved by a majority of EU countries, would allow EU countries to spend the credits on products using components from Norway, South Korea, Japan, Albania, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine, officials said.
- In early March 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a new EU defense plan. It envisages mobilizing €800 billion to strengthen the bloc’s military capabilities. EU leaders have already endorsed the plan.
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