Sir Keir Starmer will urge European countries to commit more in defence spending as he heads to Brussels for security talks.
The prime minister will call on Europe to “step up and shoulder more of the burden” to fend off the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Sir Keir, the first prime minister to meet all the leaders of the 27 EU nations in Brussels since Brexit, will argue the bloc needs to capitalise on the weak state of the Russian economy by continuing with its sanctions regime.
The prime minister will meet NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday afternoon before travelling to meet with the leaders of the 27 EU member states at an informal meeting of the European Council.
Sir Keir is expected to say: “We need to see all allies stepping up – particularly in Europe.
“President Trump has threatened more sanctions on Russia and it’s clear that’s got Putin rattled. We know that he’s worried about the state of the Russian economy.
“I’m here to work with our European partners on keeping up the pressure, targeting the energy revenues and the companies supplying his missile factories to crush Putin’s war machine.
“Because ultimately, alongside our military support, that is what will bring peace closer.”
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Sir Keir’s suggestion that EU countries should spend more on defence is likely to open him up to criticism from the Conservatives, who have urged the government to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income.
The prime minister said at the end of last year that he would “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring.
The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP [gross domestic product] on defence.
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Last year EU member states spent an average of 1.9% of EU GDP on defence, according to the European Defence Agency, a 30% increase compared with 2021.
Earlier this week European Council President Antonio Costa said the 23 EU members who belong to NATO are likely to agree to raise the defence spending target above the current 2% of national output at the next NATO summit in June.
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However, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO – the military alliance consisting of 30 European countries and the US and Canada – arguing that his country is contributing too much to the alliance’s budget while Europeans contribute too little.
During the US election campaign, President Trump said America would only help defend NATO members from a future attack by Russia if they met their spending obligations.
He also said members of NATO should be contributing 5% of their GDPs to defence spending – rather than the previous target of 2%.
The session of the Informal European Council comes as the government seeks to reset its relationship with the EU and boost areas of cooperation, including on defence and tackling illegal migration.
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On Sunday the prime minister hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at his country residence Chequers, where the two leaders agreed on the “importance of scaling up and coordinating defence production across Europe”, Downing Street said.
However, the government has repeatedly said that a closer relationship with the EU will only be sought within its red lines – meaning there will be no return to freedom of movement and rejoining the customs union or single market.
