Britain is willing to discuss paying into EU infrastructure schemes in poorer regions in return for access to the European electricity market, Hamish Falconer, the cabinet minister in charge of EU talks, told the Guardian in a report published November 10, 2026. Falconer said the UK has not accepted Brussels' link between the electricity reforms and a cohesion fund, but expects the issue to be discussed after this month's summit.
UK officials say they do not accept linking electricity market access to cohesion fund payments, so any deal would commit British taxpayers' money to infrastructure in central and eastern Europe. The collapse of talks over a suggested €6bn fee for the €150bn Safe defence fund shows how a contribution dispute can end UK participation in an EU scheme.
Britain is willing to discuss paying towards infrastructure schemes in poorer parts of the EU in return for access to the European electricity market, Hamish Falconer, the cabinet minister in charge of EU talks, told the Guardian in a report published November 10, 2026.
Falconer said he was sure the two sides would discuss the issue after this month's summit. Five European leaders welcomed the UK's desire to join the European electricity market but said Britain would have to pay into a so-called cohesion fund to do so, according to the report. UK officials say they do not accept the link between the electricity reforms and the cohesion fund.
"We have not accepted that principle," Falconer said. "I understand that that's what the European Union have asked for, but the UK government hasn't accepted. Again, this is something no doubt we will discuss."
Andy Burnham, the prime minister, has said he wants a much closer relationship with the EU, even raising the possibility of rejoining as a full member. Negotiators hope to sign deals on food and drink, carbon emissions and youth mobility at the November 20 summit.
Falconer said the UK would be keen to join a future EU defence fund. Negotiations on Britain's entry into the EU's €150bn defence fund collapsed last year after a dispute over the UK's contribution. EU officials suggested an entry fee of up to €6bn for the Security Action for Europe (Safe) fund, a low-interest loan scheme that is part of the EU's push to grow defence spending by €800bn, and talks collapsed.
"I think it's a real shame that the UK was not part of that scheme," Falconer said on November 9. "I hope there is an opportunity for a Safe2 and one in which the UK could join on reasonable terms."
Falconer also said he hoped negotiators would agree a youth mobility scheme ready for the November 20 summit, though sticking points remain over demands for home tuition fees for EU students at UK universities. The Guardian reported last week that the UK was prepared to spend up to £450m a year to give EU students discounted tuition fees if Brussels allowed Britain access to the Made in Europe industrial programme.
Falconer was positive about the UK's return next year to the Erasmus+ student exchange scheme, which the UK left under Boris Johnson's Brexit deal in 2020, and rejected Nigel Farage's criticisms of Erasmus and the youth mobility scheme.
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