Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made in the establishment of a Multilateral Defence Mechanism between UK, Finland, and the Netherlands.

On 6 July 2026, the UK, the Netherlands, Finland, and Poland reiterated our shared commitment to strengthening defence financing through the establishment of a Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM). As part of this commitment, the Defence Investment Plan includes £400 million towards the UK's contribution to the MDM.

This independent international financial institution will address our collective challenges in defence procurement by aggregating demand through procurement to achieve better value for money. It will lend to members for joint procurement, stockpiling on members' behalf, and supply chain finance to improve capability, interoperability, and value for money.

We continue to work with close allies to move quickly to formal Treaty negotiations, respecting individual members' ratification processes, while maintaining the shared ambition of setting up the MDM by 2027.