British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will tell the Munich Security Conference that Europe is “a sleeping giant” and must rely less on the United States for its defence, his office said on Friday.
In a speech scheduled for Saturday, Starmer is expected to argue that Europe should move away from overdependence on Washington and work toward a stronger European pillar within NATO.
“I’m talking about a vision of European security and greater European autonomy that does not herald US withdrawal but answers the call for more burden sharing in full and remakes the ties that have served us so well,” Starmer will say, according to excerpts released ahead of the address.
His remarks come amid lingering concerns among European leaders over whether a United States led by President Donald Trump would remain a reliable guarantor of the continent’s security. Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has repeatedly criticised European allies for not contributing enough to collective defence and has raised fresh doubts about NATO’s future.
With Russia’s war in Ukraine approaching its fifth year, European NATO members have accelerated efforts to strengthen their military capabilities in response to what Starmer is expected to describe as a growing threat from Moscow.
“As I see it — Europe is a sleeping giant. Our economies dwarf Russia’s, 10 times over,” Starmer will say. “We have huge defence capabilities. Yet, too often, all of this has added up to less than the sum of its parts.”
He is expected to highlight long-standing challenges such as fragmented defence planning and procurement inefficiencies across Europe.
Starmer will also push for closer UK–EU security ties, despite recent disagreements. Talks on Britain’s participation in the European Union’s proposed €150-billion rearmament fund reportedly stalled late last year over financial terms.
“There is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain,” Starmer will say. “That is the lesson of history — and it is today’s reality too.”
Ahead of the conference, the UK government announced plans to spend more than £400 million this financial year on hypersonic and long-range weapons programmes, including joint projects with France, Germany and Italy.
Starmer is also expected to address domestic political pressures, warning against what he describes as “peddlers of easy answers on the extreme left and the extreme right.”
“The future they offer is one of division and then capitulation. The lamps would go out across Europe once again. But we will not let that happen,” he will say.
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