Latest news with #securitypact
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Pentagon chief assures lawmakers on review of US-Britain-Australia pact as China looms
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress on Thursday he would involve lawmakers in a 30-day assessment of the Aukus alliance , a day after the future of the three-country security pact was thrown into question by reports that the Pentagon was putting it under review 'Congress will be involved,' Hegseth said in response to a question from US congressman Joe Courtney, a Connecticut Democrat, who also raised concern about the time frame allocated for analysing the pact between Australia Britain and the US. 'A 30-day review on a project that really took years to develop?' Courtney asked during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, while noting that China's dislike of Aukus was the alliance's 'ultimate sort of endorsement'. Asked about Aukus in Beijing on Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China opposed 'manufacturing bloc confrontation and anything that amplifies the risk of nuclear proliferation and exacerbates [an] arms race'. Play
Sky News
19-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Easing trade and signing a defence pact would be manifesto promises delivered - and Starmer could use a win
This EU-UK summit has for months been openly billed by Sir Keir Starmer's Downing Street as a hugely significant moment for this government. The Labour leader promised in his 2024 election manifesto that the UK would sign a new security pact with the EU to strengthen cooperation and improve the UK's trading relationship with the continent. Since winning power in July, he has embarked on a charm offensive across European capitals in a bid to secure that better post-Brexit deal. Monday is set to be when the PM makes good on those promises at a historic summit at Lancaster House in London. 16:30 There, the EU and UK are expected to sign a security and defence partnership, which has taken on a new sense of urgency since the arrival of President Trump in the White House. It is an agreement that will symbolise the post-Brexit reset, with the PM, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Antonio Costa are also expected to sign off on a communique pledging deeper economic cooperation. But, rather like the torturous Brexit negotiations I covered for years in London and Brussels under Conservative prime ministers, Sir Keir's post-Brexit reset talks are going down to the wire. As of 10.30pm on Sunday, discussions were set to continue overnight, the two sides snared up over details around fisheries, food trade and youth mobility. It's not that both sides don't want the reset: the war in Ukraine and the spectre of the US becoming an unreliable partner have pushed London and Brussels closer together in their common defence interest. Fishing and youth mobility - the two snags But the pressure for this deal weighs more heavily on our prime minister than his European colleagues. He's been talking for months about securing a reset and better trading relationship with the EU to bolster the UK economy. His need to demonstrate wins is why, suggests one continental source, the Europeans are letting talks go to the wire, with London and Brussels in a tangle over fishing rights - key demands of France and the Netherlands - and a youth mobility scheme, which is a particular focus for Berlin. "The British came with 50 asks, we came with two - on fishing and the youth mobility scheme," says one European source. The EU is asking for longer-term access to UK fishing grounds - a 10-year deal - which the British government has rebuffed, insisting it will not go beyond a four-year deal. In response, Brussels is saying it will not lift regulatory checks on food, agricultural and animal products unless the UK moves on fishing. This has left the two sides at an impasse. EU sources say Brussels had offered a time-limited deal to lift checks on animal products - replicating London's offer on fisheries - but the UK is reluctant to do this as it leaves too much uncertainty for farmers and supermarkets. Scotland election weighing on talks A deal on food products, known as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods, would be a boost for the economy, with potentially up to 80% of border checks disappearing, given the breadth of products - paint, fashion goods, leather as well as foods - with an animal component. Any deal would also mean the UK would have to align with rules made in Brussels and make a financial contribution to the EU to fund work on food and animal standards. Both elements will trigger accusations of Brexit "betrayal", as the UK signs up as a "rule taker" and finds itself paying back into the EU for better access. Government figures had been telling me how they were more than prepared to face down the criticisms likely to be thrown at them from the Conservatives. But sensitivities around fishing, particularly in Scotland, where Labour is facing elections next year, have weighed on talks. The other area of huge tension is over a youth mobility scheme, which would enable young adults from member states to study and work in the UK and vice versa. Government sources familiar with the talks acknowledge some sort of scheme will happen, but want details to be vague - I'm told it might be "an agreement about a future agreement", while the EU sees this a one of its two core demands. 2:54 In talks late on Sunday night, the UK government appeared to be softening on re-opening the pre-Brexit Erasmus student exchange scheme as perhaps a way to get around the impasse, according to one EU source. The UK rejoining this scheme had been rebuffed by Sir Keir last year, but was raised again last night in talks, according to a source. Common ground on defence and security Wherever the economic horsetrading lands, the two sides have found common ground in recent months is on defence and security, with the UK working in lockstep with European allies over Ukraine and relationships deepening in recent months as Sir Keir Starmer has worked with President Macron and others to try to smooth tensions between Kyiv and Washington and work on a European peace deal for Ukraine. If details on trade, youth mobility and fisheries are fudged on Monday, the expectation is that the two sides will sign a security partnership that will reiterate the UK's commitment to build up the continent's defence capability and stand united against Russian aggression with its partners. 3:31 The deal should also mean British arms companies will be able to access the EU's €150bn rearmament programme, which has been set up to create a massive surge in defence spending over the next five years as Europe prepares itself to better repel threats. As I write this, talks are ongoing, but it is clearly in neither side's interest for Monday to go wrong. The EU and UK need to maintain a united front and, more importantly for Keir Starmer domestically, the PM needs to show an increasingly sceptical public he can deliver on his promises. Easing trade barriers with Britain's biggest trading partner and signing an EU defence pact would be two manifesto promises delivered.
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
EU floats security pact with Australia as Albanese meets with world leaders in Rome
The European Union has raised the prospect of a security pact with Australia as Anthony Albanese met with world leaders in Rome, including a brief conversation with Pope Leo XIV following the pontiff's inauguration mass. The prime minister met with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen overnight in the Italian capital to discuss the 'constructive relationship' Australia can play in 'today's uncertain world'. In short remarks before the meeting, Von der Leyen signalled the EU would like to 'broaden this strategic partnership', including on defence and security matters. 'We are predictable, we share the same values as you just said. So we can offer to each other stability and we're very grateful for that. And this is the reason also that we do not only see you as a trading partner, but we see you as a strategic partner, and we would very much like to broaden this strategic partnership,' she said. 'We would be very pleased if we could develop such a security and defence partnership too, just to broaden the strategic partnership in many topics that we have in common.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Albanese was reportedly cautious but indicated he was open to considering the proposal, which might involve future military exercises and other cooperation in areas of mutual interest, according to the ABC. Albanese reaffirmed Australia's support for Ukraine against Russian aggression in a separate sideline meeting with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reiterating his consideration for sending troops as part of a coalition of the willing 'if a peace process emerges'. Albanese met with other world leaders, including the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, who had converged in Rome for the new pope's inauguration mass in the Vatican. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Albanese spoke to Pope Leo XIV about his mother, after being ushered into St Peter's Basilica in Rome following the Catholic leader's inauguration mass. 'I spoke to him about my mother who would be, I'm sure, looking down from Heaven with the biggest smile she's every had,' the prime minister told reporters at the Vatican on Sunday. Albanese, who was raised Catholic in a housing commission flat in Sydney, often references his single-parent mother and her influence on his life. Australia has been pursuing a free-trade agreement with the EU, which is yet to be settled. Federal frontbencher Tanya Plibersek agreed there had been a few 'sticking points'. 'There's about a thousand names that the European Union wants to restrict the use of, and they are parmesan, fetta, prosecco, a whole lot of names of food that are related to the place where they come from,' she told Seven's Sunrise program. 'But we would say that the parmesan made in Australia is world's best and we want to make sure that any free-trade agreement with the European Union is a clear advantage for Australia. 'We'll continue to work through it.' A trade agreement with the EU would open up a market for Australian goods and services to more than 400 million people. As a bloc, the EU was Australia's third-largest two-way trading partner in 2022/2023. It's also the sixth-largest export destination and the third-largest services export market. Two-way trade is valued at around $110bn.
Times
17-05-2025
- Business
- Times
British defence firms vie for a chunk of the €150bn EU goldmine
Next week Sir Keir Starmer is expected to sign a security pact with the European Union, an agreement that should open the door for British defence contractors to bid for programmes under the new €150 billion Safe (Security Action for Europe) fund. The deal could yet be derailed. There are wrangles over how much will be available to the Brits and lots of other moving parts in the wider talks on the UK-EU relationship: French fishing rights, youth mobility schemes and of course future trade arrangements. If it does happen, a potential goldmine awaits. The Safe programme is all about giving member states the money to spend quickly on getting their armed forces fit to fight without American assistance. US contractors are barred and British
Bloomberg
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
UK Defense Pact Talks With EU in ‘Hardest Yards'
UK Defense Secretary John Healey says negotiations with the EU on a security pact are in their toughest stage. (Source: Bloomberg)
