Healey Heads to Dublin to Push EU on Defence Cash and Manufacturing Ties
Chancellor John Healey will meet EU finance ministers in Dublin to press for closer UK-EU partnership on technology, defence and manufacturing, BBC reported on 17 September.
Ministers said the Dublin meeting is his first with EU counterparts since he took over at the Treasury. They said he will use it to reopen two files linked to economic security: how defence is funded, and how industry is supported.
On defence loans, Healey will tell ministers it is important to "learn lessons" from the collapsed talks on Britain joining the EU defence loans scheme. Ministers said those talks broke down last year over the entry fee London would pay. They said London has not put a new figure on the table.
Healey will also signal he is open to a different option. Officials said he is considering a UK bid to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), after his predecessor Rachel Reeves rejected the idea. Canada has led work to set up the Bank, a multilateral body — owned by several countries — that would let governments borrow more cheaply to spend more on defence, like buyers clubbing together for a better loan rate.
Officials said no decision has been announced and described the idea as under consideration.
On industry, Healey will urge the EU to design its "Made in Europe" programme to deepen ties with the UK "rather than erecting new barriers". Ministers said the Government is concerned the scheme could shut British firms out of European supply chains.
The policy is formally called the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) and is still being considered by the EU. Brussels said it is about competitiveness, through limits on goods from outside the bloc to protect EU manufacturing. Ministers said London sees a risk to market access for British firms.
The European Commission said on 11 September its published target is to raise manufacturing from 14.3% of EU GDP in 2024 to 20% by 2035, European Commission. The Act sits alongside other EU competitiveness plans. They include the Clean Industrial Deal, launched on 26 February 2025, European Commission, the Net-Zero Industry Act to expand EU clean-tech capacity and attract investment, and the One Europe, One Market roadmap to strengthen competitiveness by the end of 2027, European Commission.
Healey arrives with a new Treasury team. HM Treasury lists the Rt Hon John Healey MP as Chancellor of the Exchequer — the minister in charge of public spending and economic policy — and the Rt Hon Emma Reynolds MP as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, GOV.UK said on 7 September. The Treasury said it is the Government's economic and finance ministry, responsible for public spending, economic policy and sustainable growth, and is supported by 18 agencies and public bodies.
Reuters reported on 2 September that Healey planned to give his first major speech in the job the following week, ahead of his first Budget announcement, Reuters. Treasury sources said a UK-EU reset summit was delayed after Sir Keir Starmer's resignation as prime minister. They expect it to take place in November. Ministers said no date has been confirmed.
The broader context here is that Healey is keeping two defence-finance options open at once. The EU scheme offers closeness to Brussels but carries an entry price that proved politically difficult last year. The DSRB offers reach beyond the EU but tests whether Treasury thinking on contingent liabilities, promises to cover costs if things go wrong, has changed since Reeves.
In my view, the manufacturing calculation is tighter still. Ministers want British parts and kit in EU supply chains for defence, clean tech and advanced manufacturing, while Brussels wants EU-made content in its own market. Those aims can fit together. They can also clash, clause by clause, over procurement rules, how public bodies buy goods, and origin requirements, rules on where a product counts as made. Healey's language points to that negotiation.
The broader picture here is that much turns on detail not yet published. The IAA is still under consideration. The DSRB is still being set up. The reset summit is still unscheduled. For now, Dublin is positioning, with London saying it wants back in the room without committing on price or terms.
