The Government is set to join high-level discussions with the EU this week over a groundbreaking Europe-wide defence funding scheme, amid rising fears over waning US support. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will participate in talks with European finance ministers in South Africa at the G20 meeting, coinciding with the third anniversary of the Ukraine war. These negotiations come at a time when uncertainty over American involvement in European security has prompted urgent calls for a new financing mechanism.
Polish finance minister Andrzej Domanski revealed that discussions with the UK had been underway for months before Donald Trump’s recent comments on US engagement in European security surfaced. He explained,
“It could be a fund or a bank. For example, there is the concept of the Rearmament Bank, which we are also considering”, reported by the Express.
