BRUSSELS – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled a five-point “REARM Europe” plan to boost defense spending, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly froze military aid to Ukraine.
“We are living in an era of rearmament,” von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels, adding that “rearmament of Europe could mobilize around 800 billion euros in defense spending for a secure and resilient Europe.”
Her statement reflected an increase in the initial €500 billion in investment needed over the next decade, the European Commission estimated last year, to boost arms production and procurement in the EU and Ukraine.
“The question is no longer whether Europe's security is at risk or whether Europe should take greater responsibility for its own security,” von der Leyen said.
“The real question before us is whether Europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation demands, and whether Europe is prepared and able to act quickly and with the necessary ambition,” she added.
In Brussels, von der Leyen told reporters she had outlined her five-point plan for “Rearming Europe” in a letter to EU leaders seen by Euractiv.
A first step could be to activate the EU's Stability and Growth Pact's escape clause, which caps budget deficits among EU countries, allowing for increased national defence spending without the bloc's over-indebtedness procedure.
As a second step, the EU will offer €150 billion in loans to boost defence spending, with the aim of joint procurement in a wide range of areas such as air defence, drones, military mobility or cyber defence.
A third option would be to offer “additional options and incentives” to EU countries if they decide to use cohesion programmes to increase defence spending.
The fourth and fifth options involve mobilising private capital through the EU Savings and Investment Union and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Von der Leyen's proposals came hours after US President Donald Trump ordered a halt to all military aid to Ukraine, ratcheting up pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following a bitter standoff at the White House last Friday.
Her proposals come ahead of an emergency summit of EU leaders on Thursday, where EU countries are expected to discuss funding options and decide which are acceptable.
EU diplomats say decisions that usually take months will now have to be accelerated given the urgency of Trump's peace efforts and aid cuts.
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Source: euractiv.com
