With the United States pulling back, European nations are increasing defense spending and trying to raise investment in the continent’s own defense industries.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has approved the relaxation of fiscal rules to allow European Union countries to spend more on defense.
“Let there be no room for any doubt, I believe when it comes to European security, Europe has to do more, Europe must bring more to the table, and to achieve this, we need a surge in European defense spending,” Von der Leyen said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
With the United States increasingly pulling back from its decades-old policy of protecting Europe from Russian military aggression, European nations are increasing defense spending and trying to raise investment in the continent’s defense industries.
However, they have come across bureaucratic and institutional obstacles, as well as skeptical investors who see better profits and less risk in other industries.
Von der Leyen said European Union nations were spending on average around 2 percent of their GDP but she said they needed to increase it to above 3 percent.
That would still be well below the 5 percent President Donald Trump has urged NATO countries to spend.
She said Europe was in conflict with “rogue” Russia over Ukraine and said a “bold approach” was needed.
“This is why I can announce that I will propose to activate the escape clause for defense investments,” she said. “This will allow member states to substantially increase their defense expenditure.”
The change would allow EU governments to increase their defense spending without violating the 27-member bloc’s strict budget rules which do not allow excessive borrowing.
Von der Leyen’s announcement was based on a paper prepared by Poland, which holds the rotating EU presidency. The paper stated the current interpretation of defense investment as only military equipment like tanks or planes was too narrow.
Von der Leyen made the announcement just two days after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Ukraine’s backers in Europe it was “unrealistic” for Kyiv to become a member of NATO, or to return to its pre-2014 borders.
Hegseth’s comments, at a meeting in Belgium on Wednesday, followed President Donald Trump’s announcement on Feb. 12 that he had agreed to “start negotiations immediately” with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. In response, six European nations and the European Commission said on Feb. 12 that they and Ukraine must be involved in any negotiations.
