Keir Starmer, Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa (AP)Will the agreement boost UK economic growth ? Does the deal mean a loss of UK sovereignty? "To 'consider' participation is not a commitment to deploy, and as such does not compromise government sovereignty in any way," he said. "The real meat, the question of UK participation in defence industrial cooperation, is left still to be done," said Ian Bond, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform. Any disputes will ultimately be settled by the European Court of Justice.The UK will have little influence over future rules affecting its own territory, said Tom Bradshaw, president of the main farming union NFU.

Source: The Times May 21, 2025 01:49 UTC