Sir Keir Starmer said the benefit of joining the EU’s loan for Ukraine “outweighs the cost”.
The Prime Minister had announced the UK’s bid to join the initiative at a gathering of European leaders in the Armenian capital Yerevan on Monday.
He was using the trip to continue his push for closer ties with the bloc on defence, security and the economy, and to make the case for his reset with Brussels to UK voters ahead of local elections this week.
Asked by broadcasters whether £1 billion the UK may reportedly be asked to pay for a reset with the bloc was a price worth paying, Sir Keir said: “It’s in our national interest to be closer to Europe, and whether that’s the EU loan scheme, which we are discussing with them, that’s of great benefit to Ukraine, but it’s also a great benefit to the United Kingdom as well, in terms of the jobs that it will create in the United Kingdom.
“So the benefit there outweighs the cost.
“But more generally, it is important that we see our future as a closer relationship with the EU that’s in our national interest, and that’s what I’ve been discussing here and on previous occasions.”
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