To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the EU's Security Action for Europe procurement programme of the effectiveness of the UK’s defence procurement; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 programme.
Answered on
13 May 2025
This is a critical moment for the security of Europe. We welcome European efforts to increase defence spending, through the ReArm initiative and proposed Security Action for Europe (SAFE) mechanism. This must be a whole-of-Europe effort, in alignment with NATO, which remains the cornerstone of European security.
We share many of the same priorities to those identified by our European allies and continue to work with the European Union to ensure defence industrial initiatives maximise our offer of support to Ukraine. It is in our shared interest for SAFE to allow EU Member States to partner with the UK, recognising the vital role the UK’s defence industry plays for European security.