To reach an agreement that will allow the Britain to access the EU’s massive defense fund before a deadline at the end of the month is pressing Germany.
The two sides, Germany and the EU, are at loggerheads over how much Britain should pay to join the €150 billion SAFE fund — one of the EU’s biggest initiatives to help Europe rapidly expand its military forces in the face of Russian aggression.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, has now reduced the €6.75bn demand to €2bn, according to officials familiar with the matter. However, the amount is still much higher than the UK’s offer of several hundred million euros, according to a British official.
Germany is encouraging negotiators to find a compromise, Bloomberg reports. But with a November 30 deadline to apply for funding, time is running out.
The negotiations have become a major thorn in post-Brexit relations, tapping into a contentious debate over whether EU funds should mainly benefit member states and their companies or be extended to vital allies. The dispute is particularly acute in the area of security, given Europe’s pressing need to collectively upgrade its defense industry.