France’s President Emmanuel Macron wants Britain to pay up to £2billion to enter the European Union’s plan to further arm Ukraine.
Discussions between European nations and Britain are about to commence in Brussels over a €90billion (£78billion) loan to Ukraine after the EU agreed in principle to allow UK arms companies to be awarded contracts from the war chest.
Under the plans, Britain will be offered the opportunity to be considered as an EU member, if Sir Keir Starmer agrees to pay the fee.
France was said to have suggested the fee should be 10 and 12 per cent of the entire loan the UK will pay, which is estimated to be £21billion over seven years.
The French initially wanted to restrict British involvement in EU defence deals, but a group of member states, led by the Netherlands and Germany, managed to convince them otherwise.
Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022, will be able to use €60billion (£52billion) of the loan to fund its military operation, with the remaining amount for general budget support.
The European Commission initially planned for Kyiv to use the loan to procure weapons from its own or the EU’s arms industries, with President Macron leading the efforts to keep other allied states out of the deal.
However, the Dutch and German governments pushed back, arguing that other nations, such as Britain, should be included in order to provide further support for Ukraine.
The French President reportedly didn’t want Britain to be included in any EU defence deals at first
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PAEuropean officials have set their sights on Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missile, costing $2.2million per unit, as a possible option to add to Ukraine’s arsenal, on top of the United States’ Patriot air defence systems and PAC-3 interceptors.
Allowing the UK to enter the deal, Ukraine has access to a wider arms market, particularly if its domestic or EU industries’ production and delivery times are too long.
Non-EU members joining the deal must agree to contribute a “fair and proportionate” amount to the loan, and also demonstrate “significant financial and military support to Ukraine” and have an existing security and defence partnership with the bloc.
France reportedly suggested Britain pays between 10 and 12 per cent, which was calculated from gross national income (GNI), which is also used by Brussels to calculate member contributions to its budget.
Volodymyr Zelensky branded some of his closest allies weak, failing and indecisive in a scathing Davos address | GETTY
An EU diplomat told the Telegraph: “Paris did at one point float 12 per cent of the entire interest cost… using the GNI key.”
With another diplomat agreeing it was a “logical” step to use the GNI formula to calculate Britain’s entry fee to the deal, creating a “level playing field”.
A French source told The Telegraph that figures were not to be publicly discussed before any official negotiations happened between Britain and the EU.
Two weeks ago, in Davos for the World Economic Forum, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called Europe a “fragmented kaleidoscope” of smaller powers.
Talks with Britain will commence once the EU parliament gives the deal official sign-off.
The United States held talks with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and Thursday this week, in an effort to strike a peace deal.
Since the Ukraine-Russia war began four years ago, 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed on the battlefield, President Zelensky announced on Wednesday.
The BBC confirmed yesterday almost 160,000 people have been killed fighting for Russia in the war.
