logo
EU proposes boosting defense investments to counter US disengagement

EU proposes boosting defense investments to counter US disengagement

Nahar Net04-03-2025

by Naharnet Newsdesk 04 March 2025, 12:05
The chief of the European Union's executive on Tuesday proposed an 800 billion euro ($841 billion) plan to beef up defenses of EU nations to lessen the impact of potential U.S. disengagement and provide Ukraine with military muscle to negotiate with Russia following the freeze of U.S. aid to the embattled nation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the massive "REARM Europe" package will be put to the 27 EU leaders who will meet in Brussels on Thursday in an emergency meeting following a week of increasing political uncertainty from Washington, where President Donald Trump questioned both his alliance to the continent and the defense of Ukraine.
"I do not need to describe the grave nature of the threats that we face," von der Leyen said.
Key to the quandary of EU nations has been an unwillingness to spend much on defense over the past decades as they hid under the U.S. nuclear umbrella and a sluggish economy, which creates challenges for a quick ramp-up of such spending.
Von der Leyen said the first task is to loosen the fiscal constraints the EU puts on budgetary spending to "allow member states to significantly increase their defense expenditures without triggering" punishing rules aimed at keeping deficits from going too far into the red.
"So if member states would increase their defense spending by 1.5% of GDP on average, this could create fiscal space of close to 650 billion euros ($683 billion) over a period of four years," von der Leyen said. This would be topped up by a loans program of 150 billion euros ($157 billion) to allow member states to invest in defense.
She said military equipment that needs to be improved includes air and missile defense, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems and cyber preparedness.
Such a plan will force many EU member states to greatly increase their military spending, which is still below 2% of gross domestic product. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has told the member states they need to move to more than 3% as quickly as possible.
The plan will now be the blueprint for Thursday's summit, although immediate decisions beyond strong commitments were unlikely.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

EU removes UAE from 'high-risk' money-laundering list, adds Monaco
EU removes UAE from 'high-risk' money-laundering list, adds Monaco

LBCI

time2 hours ago

  • LBCI

EU removes UAE from 'high-risk' money-laundering list, adds Monaco

The EU on Tuesday announced the removal of the United Arab Emirates from its money-laundering "high-risk" list but added Monaco alongside nine other jurisdictions. The European Commission said it added Algeria, Angola, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela, along with Monaco, to the list of countries that need extra monitoring of their money laundering controls. In addition to the UAE, it removed Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal and Uganda. AFP

US envoy to Syria Barrack to visit Lebanon, report says
US envoy to Syria Barrack to visit Lebanon, report says

Nahar Net

time5 hours ago

  • Nahar Net

US envoy to Syria Barrack to visit Lebanon, report says

by Naharnet Newsdesk 7 hours U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack will soon visit Beirut to meet with Lebanese officials, local media reports said. U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus is reportedly leaving her position and her replacement has not yet been announced. In her first visit to war-hit Lebanon in February, Ortagus voiced from the presidential palace in Baabda pro-Israel statements. "We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah," Ortagus said, adding that the United States has set a "red line" that Hezbollah should not be a member of Lebanon's next government. U.S. journalist Laura Loomer said in a post on X that Ortagus "will be cordially reassigned to another role in the Trump administration." "She wanted to be the Special Envoy to Syria, but the position was instead given to Tom Barrack," Loomer added.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store