The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled a plan for the “rearming of Europe,” which consists of five key points.
It includes a proposal to ease the EU’s budget rules so that member states can increase defense investments without the risk of penalties for exceeding budget deficits. Von der Leyen emphasized that Europe is ready for a significant increase in defense spending.
The first point of the plan suggests increasing government funding for the defense sector. With an increase in spending of 1.5% of GDP over four years, around 650 billion euros could be raised. The second point involves creating an EU mechanism for providing loans for defense investments of up to 150 billion euros. The third point includes using funds from the EU budget, while the fourth and fifth points focus on attracting private capital through the European Investment Bank or the EU’s savings and investment initiative.
Von der Leyen previously called for a large-scale increase in armaments in Europe at a summit in London, which also involved Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following an unsuccessful meeting with Donald Trump.
These statements were made before U.S. media reported that the U.S. had suspended further military aid to Ukraine.
