- UK won’t seek to join EU SAFE defence programme in 2026, with ministers citing value-for-money concerns despite SAFE’s role in EU’s €800bn ReArm Plan
- Parliament questions UK exclusion as Canada joins SAFE for €10m, while the UK was reportedly quoted a €6bn entry cost, raising scrutiny over EU defence procurement access
- UK to rely on third-country participation and bilateral defence deals (e.g., Norway, Germany, Italy), but SAFE limits outsiders to 33% funding participation
The UK’s aborted effort to join the European SAFE defence investment programme will not be restarted in the new year, with the prospect of being able to partner on EU-wide procurement efforts apparently not providing value for money.
SAFE constitutes one pillar within the EU’s ReArm Plan that enables defence spending of up to €800bn to increase Europe’s defence market competitiveness and promote cheaper, collective procurement.
Detailed in a surprising exchange on 16 December between the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office (FCDO), it was revealed that the UK would not return to discussions in the new year to join the SAFE programme.
“As we have made clear we only want to be part of arrangements that provide value for money… and that has to be a guiding principle for us,” Cooper told the Committee.
The UK’s failure to join SAFE runs contrary to the success of Canada, which on 1 December announced that it had successfully negotiated its own entry to the programme, despite being an entire ocean away. The apparent entry fee was just €10m ($11.8m).
Emily Thornberry, chair of the committee, queried why Canada was permitted to join SAFE for such a low fee when the UK’s had been quoted a €6bn entry payment.
“We play a leading role in the defence of Europe and why are we not allowed into SAFE?” Thornberry asked.
In response, Cooper said the UK would be able to operate as a third-party country in EU-wide defence procurement programmes and had already agreed bilateral and multilateral defence deals with countries such a Norway, Germany, and Italy for fighters, naval frigates, and artillery.
“We are only prepared to be part of arrangements that are providing value for money,” Cooper reiterated.
Absent SAFE, what now for UK?
The finalisation of a mid-May agreement between the UK and the EU was supposed to “pave the way” for entry into SAFE, with the UK Government promoting defence spending as a “vehicle for economic growth” in a bid to jump start a moribund national economy.
Access to the €150bn SAFE – the acronym from the full-form Security Action For Europe – fund was thought critical to this ambition.
Such was the pull at being granted access EU defence funding the UK opted to sweeten the May agreement through concessions in areas as fisheries, an offer that has apparently been in vain.
Third-party countries can still access SAFE programme funding but are limited to a minority investment of 33% of the total value.
UK defence spending, set to increase to 2.6% of GDP by 2027, is extremely tight, with the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan expected to see key programmes.
