Spending more on defence must, however, go hand-in-hand with increased efficiency. As both the recent Draghi and Letta reports set out, the European defence industry remains fragmented, lacks scale and needs further consolidation and specialisation to create poles of excellence.

Keir Starmer joins EU leaders’ defence meeting as first UK PM post-Brexit Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer arrives in Brussels on Monday, 3 February, as the first UK prime minister to join a meeting of European Union leaders since Brexit.