PM praises ‘benefits’ of £78bn loan for Ukraine

SIR KEIR Starmer said the benefit of joining the EU’s €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine “outweighs the cost” as he argued the continent must “move at pace” to bolster its own defence.

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The Prime Minister said UK involvement in the scheme was in “the national interest” and would help create jobs at home as well as supporting Kyiv.

‘The bid to participate in the loan scheme, recently approved by the EU after Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungarian elections ended a long-running impasse, is part of the Prime Minister’s reset with Brussels.

‘Asked about suggestions that Britain could be asked to pay the bloc up to £1bn for greater access to the single market, the PM focused on the “great benefit” that joining the Ukrainian initiative specifically would offer.

Speaking to broadcasters after the European Political Community gathering in the Armenian capital of Yerevan yesterday, he said: “It's in our national interest to be closer to Europe.

“And whether that’s the EU loan scheme, which we are discussing with them, that’s of great benefit to Ukraine, but it’s also a great benefit to the United Kingdom as well, in terms of the jobs that it will create in the United Kingdom. So the benefit there outweighs the cost.