France is determined to obtain more advantageous fishing rights in exchange for a defense agreement of the United Kingdom, according to several officials.
The Security Loan Plan for Europe (SAFE) is part of a broader set which includes the exemption from the defense expenses of the EU budgetary limits and the pipeline of private financing to the defense industry.
The most thorny question, however, is whether the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States would be authorized to participate in joint purchases within the framework of the initiative. According to the initial framework of the Commission, they came out because they do not have a defense agreement with the EU.
The proposal limits joint purchases in Ukraine, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, as well as countries in the running to join the EU and those with a security and defense partnership with Brussels.
A group of around 10 countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, supported the opening of the UK and Canada’s joint public procurement program.
“We all agree on what should be done: more openness. But there are different approaches on how to get there,” said an EU diplomat.
A smaller group of countries also supported greater involvement in the United States
Politices
