【Text by Observers Network, Chen Sijia】In May this year, the European Union passed the "European Security Initiative" plan, providing 150 billion euros in financial support for member states to purchase security and defense equipment. According to a report by Bloomberg in the United States on November 11, the UK is negotiating with the EU to participate in the "European Security Initiative" plan, but the EU has requested the UK to provide up to 6.75 billion euros in funding, which was rejected by the UK government.

According to insiders, the EU and the UK have conducted private negotiations. The European Commission believes that the UK should pay between 4 billion and 6.5 billion euros for participation in the "European Security Initiative," and plans to charge management fees of 150 million to 250 million euros.

A senior UK official stated that the UK government rejected this request, believing that the fee standards proposed by the European Commission were unreasonable and far higher than the UK's expected access cost. The official said that in terms of funding, France's position was the most hardened, and the UK and the EU will continue to negotiate to reduce the costs.

The UK official added that the UK has engaged in high-level communication with the aides of the President of the European Commission, von der Leyen. The official warned that obstructing the UK's participation in the "European Security Initiative" plan would weaken Europe's military rearmament process and send a signal to Russia that "Europe is not taking threats seriously."

Regarding the relevant reports, the UK government issued a statement saying: "We will only agree to deals that are valuable to the UK and the UK industry. No agreement has been reached yet, and we will not comment on the ongoing negotiations."

On June 24, UK Prime Minister Starmer visited the Netherlands Marine Corps training base IC photo

Some insiders said that there are different opinions within the EU regarding the access criteria proposed by the European Commission to the UK. Some EU countries support the UK's position to lower the fees, while others want to strictly enforce the access rules.

In May, the EU passed the "European Security Initiative" plan, which will provide 150 billion euros in defense loans to member states. The plan allows EU member states to apply for loans to invest in defense capabilities, and the funds can be used to purchase weapons from EU, Ukraine, and European Free Trade Association countries. If the UK participates in the plan through negotiations, British companies can also benefit from it.

Bloomberg reported that EU member states need to submit their plans by November 30, so the coming weeks will be critical for the UK and the EU to resolve the negotiation deadlock.

The "European Security Initiative" plan mainly targets defense companies in EU member states, but the European Commission is also negotiating with non-EU countries such as the UK and Canada on access issues. Countries such as Turkey and South Korea also have intentions to participate. The plan aims to help European countries purchase military equipment and enhance their capabilities in drones, missiles, cyber defense, and air defense systems.

The UK government released a strategic defense assessment report in June this year, recommending increased investment in multiple areas of UK defense construction. According to a report by the BBC, the UK government formulated a new defense industry strategy in September, investing 250 million pounds to expand military and security industries in various parts of the UK. The UK also pledged to increase defense spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027.

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