{"id":55699,"date":"2018-06-11T17:01:40","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T17:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/11\/at-arms-length-inside-the-push-to-keep-eu-uk-defense-ties-alive\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:01:39","slug":"at-arms-length-inside-the-push-to-keep-eu-uk-defense-ties-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2018\/06\/11\/at-arms-length-inside-the-push-to-keep-eu-uk-defense-ties-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"At arm\u2019s length: Inside the push to keep EU-UK defense ties alive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BRUSSELS and LONDON \u2015 The summer of 2018 could prove decisive for those who want to see the U.K. remain close to Europe\u2019s defense activities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/05\/24\/unresolved-brexit-negotiations-threaten-continentwide-security-eu-lawmaker-warns\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" style=\"\" target=\"_blank\">once Brexit goes into effect<\/a> next spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Advocates are placing their hopes in upcoming, high-level European Union meetings and emerging policy documents, aiming to inject a measure of certainty into an otherwise confusing policy landscape. Simply put, the goal is to soften the blow of losing important touch points with one of Europe\u2019s most capable militaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The EU\u2019s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has laid out the general terms of Britain\u2019s impending exit from the EU, saying that the U.K. \u201cwill no longer be involved in decision-making, nor in planning our defense and security instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond that, however, there could be wiggle room in the details of common efforts when it comes to including so-called third states, which the U.K. is poised to become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One such project is the recently launched European Defence Industrial Development Programme, or EDIDP, meant to advance increased investments in military research and equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With a budget of \u20ac500 million (U.S. $583 million) for 2019-2020, it is expected that the program will hand out an initial round of project funding next year. The program is a key part of the European Defence Fund, or EDF, which eventually will grow to \u20ac5.5 billion annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A post-Brexit U.K., however, will not be liable for EDF funds and will be similarly excluded from the Permanent Structured Cooperation defense and security imitative as well as other EU-financed projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But as negotiations continue on exact financing terms, one possible option under consideration for future U.K. participation is a pay-to-play scheme for non-EU states, multiple officials and analysts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/industry\/2018\/05\/24\/is-the-us-out-as-turkeys-top-western-arms-dealer\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-958876188.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Is the US out as Turkey\u2019s top Western arms dealer?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Britain may replace the U.S. as Turkey\u2019s major Western weapons supplier, as London looks to secure a comprehensive trade agreement in anticipation for Brexit.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have been clear that we would like to explore a range of models and options for future UK engagement in the European Defence Fund, including building on precedents for third-party participation in the EU\u2019s civilian research programmes,\u201d the British Defence Ministry recently said in written testimony before the parliamentary Defence Committee.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul Taylor, a Paris-based defense analyst, has discussed cooperation options with senior officials on the EU negotiating team. The sentiment there, he said, is that it would be possible for the EU to invite companies from nonmember nations to participate in individual research and development projects for highly sought-after capabilities unavailable elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taylor, who has compiled a report on the issue to be published June 26 by the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe, said such a mechanism would not amount to an automatic right for the U.K. to solicit contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it would give London an avenue to lobby the EU for an invitation into certain projects, with Brussels making the final call. If granted access, the U.K. would pay its own share, whereas other members would get funding from a common pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cObviously the U.K. would prefer something better that gives its companies the right to tender for all EDF projects in exchange for a U.K. contribution to the EDF budget,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut it was made clear to me that this won\u2019t fly in Brussels and is exactly the kind of \u2018cherry-picking\u2019 \u2015 seeking selective benefits of membership where it suits British interests \u2015 which the [European] Commission and the EU27 won\u2019t countenance,\u201d he said, referring to the remaining 27 EU members post Brexit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The proposed regulation governing the EDF is currently stalled between the European Parliament and the European Council. The Commission\u2019s latest draft offers only a tiny loophole for possible third-state involvement as a subcontractor. But Taylor said there is \u201cmassive\u201d lobbying going on, not only by U.K. companies but especially by U.S. firms \u2015 notably Lockheed Martin and Raytheon \u2015 to get the loophole widened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charles Tannock, a senior U.K. Conservative member of the European Parliament, said accessing the emerging defense-funding streams is something London is \u201cclearly interested in and is prepared to contribute to proportionately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He warned, however, that the EU could fear setting an unwanted precedent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe problem is other countries might say: \u2018We\u2019re ready to pay to play,\u2018 \u201d Tannock said. \u201cBut the EU then may feel it loses coherence. If the U.K. can pay to play, why not the U.S., Japan, India \u2015 whoever?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A European Council spokesman said no final decisions on U.K. participation in EU-funded programs will be taken until the end of this year. But the issue is likely to come up for discussion at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg and the EU leaders\u2019 summit in Brussels, both at the end of June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The bigger picture<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, any arrangement for future EU-U.K. defense cooperation will depend on the broader Brexit terms, analysts cautioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe the prime minister and the government has to give ground on issues like the customs union and the Irish border in order for the European Union to be able to reciprocate in other areas like defense, security and the Galileo space program,\u201d said Paul Everitt, chief of the British defense industry group ADS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Europe\u2019s largest military budget, and an industrial base to match, Britain has attracted significant defense investment in the past two decades or so, much of it from U.S. companies like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2018\/06\/08\/make-room-nato-eu-is-planting-its-flag-in-cyber\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-875327000.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Make room NATO \u2015 the EU is planting its flag in cyber<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">NATO has led a lot of the cyber efforts in Europe, but an exercise led by the European Union will focus on how governments coordinate across markets on cyber response.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That investment may fade if companies are unable gain access to Europe through the U.K., Everitt warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe challenge the U.K. faces if we can\u2019t participate in the key European programs, the research and technology projects, and potential joint procurement, then companies will choose to invest where they can do so. The U.K. will always have a strong domestic customer, and they will want a strong industrial base, but it will become harder and harder to sustain some of the higher-end capabilities if we can\u2019t see Europe as being part of the market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, what major European joint defense projects are there anyway in which the U.K. should be interested?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s the question Jon Louth, director for defence, industries and society at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, asked. He noted that Britain appears to be excluded from one such effort: a nascent Franco-German plan to build a next-generation combat aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe should be open to ongoing cooperation, but I think that\u2019s more significant for the border and security partnership than large defense programs,\u201d Louth said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to point to one or two defense programs that we would all hang our hats on in the traditional domains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>A new roadblock<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finding a deal that suits both sides may have become even more difficult in recent weeks, as relations between Brussels and London have soured over the EU refusal to give the British access to military-grade data from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/space\/2018\/05\/08\/uk-and-eu-spar-over-access-to-satellite-program\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Galileo navigational satellite system<\/a> once Brexit kicks in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The British have invested more than \u00a31 billion (U.S. $1.3 billion) in the new European satellite network Galileo and supplied much of the ultra-sensitive encryption technology, but have been excluded from further contracts on the system and have been threatened with being blocked from data required to target missiles and other applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That has gone down poorly in London, where the government has threatened to build its own satellite system and sue the EU for a reimbursement on the Galileo project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ivan Rogers, a former U.K. ambassador to the EU who was closely involved in the creation of Galileo, predicts that the same types of issues that have recently cropped up over the space program will \u201creappear in multiple other areas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe toxicity of the exchanges in recent weeks and the mutual accusations of bad faith conceal an obvious truth: The U.K. genuinely wants to remain a major player in the project, with privileged ongoing access from outside the EU, and views its capabilities and contribution to date as giving it the right to that ticket. For the EU, the decision to leave inevitably entails relegation to a different role and status in the project, and, let\u2019s be candid, offers scope for EU located firms to take contractual business away from U.K. ones,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The summer of 2018 could prove decisive for those who want to see the U.K. remain close to Europe\u2019s defense activities once Brexit goes into 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