Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 15 April 2026 to Question 123696 on EU Cohesion Fund, for what reason joining the EU electricity market requires payments to reduce economic and social disparities.

The UK is not currently contributing to EU Cohesion Funds as a consequence of the UK/EU reset. The EU is seeking an appropriate UK financial contribution to the EU’s cohesion policy, alongside an electricity agreement. Any UK financial contribution would be subject to negotiations with the EU, and no contributions have yet been made or agreed upon.The government is clear that agreements made with the EU must be in the national interest, and that whilst trade-offs will be required, these are worth making where the economic gains to the UK exceed the costs. The UK anticipates that formal negotiations on electricity market participation will begin shortly.