Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Joint statement from Finland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom on joint defence financing and procurement, published on 17 March 2026, whether the new finance mechanism will lead to the procurement of (a) new or (b) existing capabilities.

The finance mechanism will unlock finance and support joint procurement between partners of key capabilities, alongside providing loans to the defence industry and government to accelerate defence sector investment. The mechanism is still in development with partners.

We expect the mechanism to complement existing EU, NATO and other initiatives and drives interoperability through combining financing and an aggregated demand signal to drive interoperability and interchangeability through joint procurement over time.