According to the President of the Commission, the EU is seeking to release funds for defense investments EUR 800 billion.
Chairman of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen On Tuesday, Europe was ready to significantly increase its defense expenditure.
He said that the EU is seeking to release funds of EUR 800 billion for defense investments.
The chairman suggested that the EU would introduce a new financial instrument that would provide EUR 150 billion for Member States for defense investments. However, he did not tell how the tool in question would be financed.
According to Von Der Leyen, the Member States could obtain, among other things, air defense, artillery and droons, according to Von Der Leyen.
In particular, the Commission hopes to increase joint procurement. The chairman emphasized that through the financial instrument, Member States could quickly support Ukraine.
Von der Leyen: Debt rules could be loosened
In the morning, von der Leyen briefly introduced the options for financing defense expenditure.
“This is the moment of Europe and we have to live up to expectations,” he said.
In addition to the new financial instrument, the Commission also proposes to loosen the debt rules in so far as Member States are investing in defense.
The Commission has calculated that if Member States increased their defense expenditure by 1.5 % of the average GDP, there would be 650 billion euros in funding over four years.
In addition, von der Leyen suggests that Member States be able to direct unused cohesion resources to the defense. The money is mainly intended for regional support.
In addition, there is a desire to attract more private investments. This is expected, among other things, to participate in the European Investment Bank.