The European Union has barred defense and technology firms from the US, UK, and Turkey from accessing the European defense investment fund ‘ReArm Europe,’ aimed at boosting European strategic autonomy in military equipment. According to a Financial Times publication on March 19, 2025, the €150 billion European defense investment fund will only be accessible to defense industries and companies from EU member states. However, third countries like the US or Turkey can participate if they sign defense and security agreements with the European Union, as proposed by the Commission today. This move represents a political and diplomatic victory for France and other European nations promoting an exclusively European market for military equipment, pushing for increased EU defense investments amid concerns about the reliability of the US as a defense partner under President Donald Trump. The UK exerted significant pressure to be included in the ‘ReArm Europe’ initiative due to its crucial role in the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ for developing European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. Additionally, London pushed for access because British companies like BAE Systems and Babcock International have contracts and are integrated into the defense industries of several EU countries with significant armament programs. If the UK wants to join the European defense investment fund, it must sign a bilateral defense and security agreement with the EU. The exclusion of both British and Turkish entities could cause issues for European defense companies that already have close ties with suppliers from these markets.