UK warns EU against keeping Britain out of 'Made in Europe'

Brussels, Belgium: UK Defence Minister Wes Streeting on Monday warned the EU against keeping Britain out of its "Made in Europe" industrial push, weeks before a key EU-UK summit.

The European Union wants to boost domestic sectors like cars and defence by forcing companies to buy European if they want public money, but the efforts have raised concerns in London about the UK's potential exclusion.

"We need to be careful" to avoid that the Made in Europe push "doesn't spread into self-defeating protectionism", Streeting said alongside top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas ahead of their talks in Brussels.

The British minister will also meet EU defence chief Andrius Kubilius.

Monday's talks come just over two weeks before EU chiefs and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will meet for a summit in Brussels on November 20.

Burnham has said the long-awaited meeting would be a chance to start a "serious dialogue" about long-term relations between the UK and the bloc, a decade after the Brexit vote to leave.

One of the major issues on the table this month will be "Made in Europe" even though it is not officially on the summit's agenda.

As the EU's push to cut dependence on non-EU companies widens to include artificial intelligence development and cloud computing, the UK fears new digital rules being prepared will also exclude British companies.

London and Brussels hope to clinch deals on food and drink trade, youth mobility and avoiding EU carbon emissions taxes during the November 20 talks.

The EU hopes to make progress especially on cutting the fees EU students have to pay to attend British universities.

The bloc's capitals will discuss the draft of a joint EU-UK summit statement during a meeting of ambassadors Wednesday in Brussels.

Streeting will also meet German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius later on Monday in Berlin.