FT reported on von der Leyen's disrupted meeting with Starmer at COP-30

The head of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, refrained from meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the COP-30 conference in Brazil, citing her busy schedule. This was reported on November 10 by the Financial Times (FT) newspaper, citing sources.

According to published information, the meeting with von der Leyen was planned to be held at the initiative of the British Prime Minister, where he was going to express dissatisfaction with the requirements of the European Union (EU), according to which the UK should pay up to €6.5 billion in defense investments and individual contributions to the EU budget. It is noted that the meeting did not take place due to "schedule restrictions."

The British government clarified that the country intends to conclude only profitable deals for it, in particular for British industry. At the same time, the EU is seeking to involve the UK in its rearmament project under the SAFE program, which will help European countries jointly purchase new weapons for Ukraine.

It is emphasized that the deadline for submitting applications for SAFE is November 30, while the source of the publication suggested that a meeting between von der Leyen and Starmer may still take place before that time.

On the sidelines: Europe's leading economies are peaking

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Earlier, on November 6, Bloomberg reported that European countries and the United Kingdom are approaching economic collapse due to unstable fiscal policies and growing public debt. According to the agency, the situation in the UK has reached a critical point: interest on the national debt has exceeded spending on defense, infrastructure and education. At the same time, the European Central Bank warns about the risks to the social programs of all major European countries.

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