Britain and France discuss nuclear energy, military cooperation

Feb 17, 2012, 8:40 GMT

London - Britain and France are to sign a landmark agreement to cooperate on civil nuclear energy, paving the way for the construction of a new generation of power plants in Britain, the government said Friday.

Prime Minister David Cameron and a delegation of senior government ministers were due to travel to Paris for a bilateral summit later Friday, which will also discuss defence cooperation.

For Cameron, whose personal relations with Nicolas Sarkozy have not always been easy, the trip is an opportunity to gauge the 'political temperature' in France after the president's declaration that he will stand for a second term.

Cameron will be accompanied by Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Deals worth more than 500 million pounds between British and French companies will allow work to start on new facilities, creating more than 1,500 jobs in Britain.

French energy company EDF already owns a series of nuclear power stations in Britain, where it plans to build four more.

A joint declaration to be signed by the two leaders at the summit will signal a shared commitment to civil nuclear power, establishing a framework for co-operation on security, research and development, education and training, the government said.

Military cooperation will also be high on the agenda, amid reports that the two countries are set to unveil plans to develop an unmanned new European fighter jet.

French newspaper Les Echos said Thursday that the two governments aimed to build a 'prototype of an unmanned stealth aircraft by 2020.'

Syria, the situation in Libya and the debt crisis in the eurozone are also likely to be discussed, the British government said.

Read more about Great Britain