Keir Starmer has come under pressure from EU leaders (Image: Getty Images)
Keir Starmer is under pressure from European leaders to join a £420 billion defence scheme amid threats to Nato by .
The new President has urged Nato countries to boost their defence spending per GDP from 2% to 5%, claiming European allies have piggybacked on US military might for too long.
Poland, which holds the ’s rotating presidency, is pushing the project – calls for an “intergovernmental agreement” that would allow its participants to chip in and buy military hardware to be distributed to European armies.
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Donald Trump (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
One of the reasons Polish officials gave for pursuing an intergovernmental pact was to include non-EU countries, such as Britain or Norway, a source told the Telegraph.
It would also allow neutral countries, like Ireland, Malta and Austria, to opt-out of the scheme.
British officials have offered little suggestion they would be prepared to join the scheme in initial discussions.
But European diplomats believe the poor state of Britain’s finances mean Sir Keir could join in order to deliver his pledge to increase defence spending.
The Prime Minister attempting to boost defence spending to 2.5%.
But Labour’s defence review could be delayed until autumn, raising concerns that the defence budget could be squeezed as Rachel Reeves tries to stabilise the economy.
“Even though the UK’s finances are in a rotten state, with little money to fund security and defence, something can be done about that,” the diplomatic source said.
A second diplomat acknowledged Britain could be under pressure to join the scheme if it gets up and running.
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Poland, which is championing British involvement, spends more than 4% of GDP on defence as the largest contributor to Nato.
Sir Keir and Mr Tusk recently met in Warsaw to start discussions on a separate, bilateral defence and security pact between Poland and Britain.
The £420 billion figure is based on an assessment by Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission president, that the bloc would have to spend that amount over the next decade to bolster its defences.
Under the plan, the European Investment Bank would be handed a special role in overseeing the fund, raising and distributing the money.
Sir Keir will meet leaders for discussions over the continent’s defence at a special retreat outside of Brussels on Feb 3.