Today at 17:33
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has privately proposed invoking emergency provisions to allow EU countries to increase defense spending significantly.
This was reported by Politico, citing four anonymous EU officials.
The emergency measures, suggested by von der Leyen during a closed-door meeting with EU leaders, would enable member states to boost defense expenditures without violating EU budgetary rules.
Current regulations allow EU countries to deviate from spending plans “in the event of a severe economic downturn” or under “exceptional circumstances beyond the government’s control.”
During a previous EU leaders’ meeting, von der Leyen also proposed excluding defense spending from national budget deficit calculations, according to Politico.
Publicly, von der Leyen pledged to use “the full range of flexibility” offered by EU budgetary rules “to ensure a significant increase in defense spending.”
Earlier, European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius expressed hope that around €100 billion would be allocated for defense in the EU’s next seven-year budget.
He also stated that the EU needs a “big bang” in terms of defense spending and policy to be prepared for threats from Russia.
Read also: U.S. in contact with Russian and Ukrainian leadership – Trump
