Could an agreement for Britain to join Europe’s defence fund ‘Security Action for Europe’ (Safe) be back on the cards? Speaking in Paris yesterday, European Council president Antonio Costa suggested as much. ‘It could take some weeks, ‌months, ⁠but for sure, we will achieve an agreement with the UK on the Safe issue,’ he said.

Nato officials last month warned Starmer that uncertainty over Britain’s defence spending and the speed of rearmament risked undermining the country’s status in the alliance

Nato officials last month warned Starmer that uncertainty over Britain’s defence spending and the speed of rearmament risked undermining the country’s status in the alliance

Talks between Britain and the EU on joining the £130 billion scheme broke down last November when Brussels demanded the government hand over a £5 billion joining fee. France, reportedly, was the most hardline proponent of this ‘pay to play’ model at the time. 

Since then, Keir Starmer and his government – most notably minister for EU relations Nick Thomas-Symonds – have been working hard to ‘reset’ relations with Brussels. That endeavour appears to be heading in the right direction: in his speech, Costa said, ‘the new ​Labour government has started the reset, and the reset is going well.’

This is sure to have been music to Starmer’s ears. During his grilling at the House of........

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