By Mark John BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The European Union will launch on Monday a new common fund for defence research despite a refusal by military heavyweight Britain to take part, EU officials said. The fund, to be agreed on by EU defence ministers in Brussels, is a small but rare step towards pooling the bloc's jealously guarded national defence budgets and is aimed at narrowing the United States' burgeoning technology lead. Britain's decision to stay out of the project has angered other European countries which accuse it of undermining fledgling efforts to develop a common EU defence policy. Diplomats say Britain is also blocking agreement on the future budget of the European Defence Agency (EDA), the body set up in 2004 to coordinate EU defence work, and is demanding more information on how it spends its money. "Britain is the most resistant and we are amazed at that given its previous commitments," one senior EU diplomat said. The envoy, who declined to be identified, was referring to a landmark 1998 agreement signed between Britain and France seen as launching efforts for a common EU defence policy. The research fund would be run by the EDA and will focus its early work on technologies to protect troops in the field, ranging from detection of snipers in urban areas to new-generation body armour. It will have a 50 million euro ($64 million) budget, with France, Germany and Poland the largest contributors. At least 13 other EU member states and Norway will contribute funds and the aim is to come up with results within three years. "The UK isn't participating in the project because there's a high degree of duplication of work already undertaken as part of our national programme," a British defence ministry spokesman said. He said Britain spent 2.3 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) on defence research and development in 2005, nearly half the 5.5 billion pound total across the EU. Britain sees the European Defence Agency acting as a "coordinator" rather than a central fund for defence spending. "That's our vision for the EDA. But we're happy for other countries to do this if they want," the spokesman said. Some critics, particularly British conservatives, say the EU research fund could harm defence ties with the United States and is a covert move by nations such as France to weaken NATO. Ministers will debate on Monday raising the EDA budget to 29 million euros in 2009, from 22 million in 2007. British Defence Secretary Des Browne is expected to request more information on where the EDA's money is going, the envoys said. (Additional reporting by Yves Clarisse in Paris and Peter Graff in London)
