The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented on Tuesday an ambitious five-pillar defence plan to mobilise 800 billion euros to rearm Europe and provide ‘immediate’ military support to Ukraine, hours after Donald Trump announced that he was suspending all military aid following his tense meeting in the White House with Zelenskyy.
‘A new era is upon us,’ Von Der Leyen said in Brussels, quoted by numerous media outlets as she presented the plan to EU leaders two days before a key summit announced for Thursday. ‘We are living in the most momentous and dangerous of times. This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up. Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us has seen in our adult lifetime,’ she warned.
According to the Commission President, the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan could mobilise close to 800 billion euros in defence spending in five phases. The first would be to propose that the EU suspend budgetary barriers to allow member countries to ‘significantly increase their defense expenditures without triggering the excessive deficit procedure’, which forces governments to reduce deficit levels if they exceed the limits.
The second phase consists of a new instrument to provide 150 billion euros in loans to EU countries for investments in defence. ‘This is basically about spending better — and spending together… We are talking about pan-European capability domains — for example: air and missile defense, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition drones and anti-drone systems,’ said Von Der Leyen. ‘With this equipment, member states can massively step up their support to Ukraine. So, immediate military equipment for Ukraine,‘ she added
‘We have to spend faster and heavier on defence,’ warns France
The third pillar would involve using the EU budget to ‘direct more funds towards defense-related investments’, including the possibility for countries to allocate so-called ‘cohesion funds’ to defence. The other two pillars of the ‘ReArm Europe’ plan involve removing limits on loans to defence companies from the European Investment Bank, and establishing a savings and investment mechanism to help companies access capital.
These proposals are due to be debated at the summit focusing on defence and military spending, which is to be held in two days’ time in the European capital, and which comes after another summit that EU and NATO members –without the presence of the United States– held on Sunday in London, which was also attended by Turkey.
The Finance Minister of France, Eric Lombard, warned today that the French government will have to spend ‘faster and heavier’ on defence, even if it means making cuts in other areas, in view of the growing threat to the security of Europe posed by Russia. However, Lombard rejected the idea that the EU should use seized Russian assets to finance European military spending, something he considered ‘contrary to international agreements’.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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