France's Push to Exclude UK from EU Defense Fund Backfires, Losing 1.1 Billion Euros

France, a leading advocate for restricting UK companies' access to the EU's 150 billion euro SAFE fund, ultimately became a victim of its own rules. Under the fund's requirements, at least 65% of each defense project's value must be produced within the EU or Ukraine. This restriction disqualified several joint France-UK projects, including programs by missile manufacturer MBDA, from receiving loans. As a result, France's request of 16.2 billion euros from the SAFE fund was reduced to 15.1 billion euros, with Paris losing approximately 1.1 billion euros in expected resources. The episode demonstrates that despite Brexit, European and British defense industries remain heavily interdependent, and excluding UK companies can also harm joint European projects.