UPDATE 2-Britain's Starmer set to call for multinational defence initiative, FT says

British Prime Minister ​Kier Starmer is set to ‌make the ​case for Britain and its Western allies to launch a multinational defence initiative that could oversee joint weapons procurement and ‌cut rearmament costs, the Financial Times said on Friday.

Starmer is expected to raise the idea at this weekend's Munich Security Conference, the newspaper added, citing British government officials. He is also set to ‌call for closer defence cooperation with allies in a speech on Saturday, as ‌well as in private discussions with other leaders at the three-day event, it added.

A Downing Street spokesperson pointed Reuters to a statement issued on Thursday saying Starmer will meet with European leaders in Munich on Friday ⁠afternoon, ​including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ⁠and French President Emmanuel Macron. Starmer will deliver a speech on Saturday outlining his vision for the future ⁠of European defence and security, that statement added.

The Munich Security Conference, one of the world's top security ​forums, will be held from February 13-15 this year. Earlier this month, Starmer said ⁠his government would consider applying to join a second possible multi-billion-euro European Union fund for defence projects. The European ⁠Commission ​is considering launching a second edition of its SAFE loans scheme as Europe seeks to bolster its defences due to growing fears of Russia and doubts about U.S. security ⁠commitments to Europe under President Donald Trump.

A British plan to join the original 150 ⁠billion-euro ($177 billion) SAFE fund ⁠broke down in November after Starmer's government refused to pay a financial contribution to join, in a setback for a post-Brexit reset ‌of relations.