Rachel Reeves is keen on the UK joining a major European Union project, in a move that may anger Brexiteers, accusing her of edging Britain back into the EU.
The Chancellor is reportedly keen on the UK joining the €70 billion European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) – a plan designed to “ensure the EU’s defence industrial readiness for the future”.
According to Bloomberg, Ms Reeves expressed interest in the UK joining EDIP during a meeting with EU budget commissioner Piotr Serafin on December 9.
It’s unclear what form the UK’s involvement will take, however any signs that Labour is eeking Britain closer to Brussels will likely be met with scorn in Brexiteer circles.
“Billions will have to be invested and so there will be huge procurement contracts up for grabs,” a Brussels insider told the i.
“France was pushing for more ‘buy European’ clauses. The UK wants a piece of the pie.”
The rumblings about Ms Reeves’ overtures towards Brussels over defence comes after Defence Secretary John Healey last month drew the ire of the UK security community for cutting the UK defence budget by £500million.
Following Mr Healey’s announcement, the budget will see six military projects scrapped, including the British Army’s Watchkeeper drone programme, the Royal Navy’s Landing Platform Docks, HMS Albion, HMS Bulwark, and HMS Northumberland. The RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler tankers will also be thrown on the scrapheap, along with 14 RAF Chinook and 17 Puma helicopters.
Military commentator and chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told Express.co.uk the decision and its timing is “f****** bonkers”.
“We’re as close as we’ve been to war with Russia since the Second World War [and] we announce a half billion cut in our conventional defence. It was the lack of conventional defence that encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine in the first place”, he said.
“When he looked west on February 24 2022, he didn’t see a conventional defence. So I think number one is that [cutting defence] is crazy”, he said.
