EU pitches plan to free up €800 billion for defense spending

PARIS — The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, proposed a plan that could free up around €800 billion ($841 billion) in defense spending over the next four years, as the continent prepares to face Russian aggression and help Ukraine to defend itself.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a five-point plan, dubbed ReArm Europe, to help pay for more security spending ahead of a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday. She said the world is seeing an era of rearmament, and the 27-nation bloc is ready to “massively” boost defense spending.

The plans include €150 billion in loans to member states to build up pan-European capacities in areas like air defense and ammunition, and activating a fiscal escape clause to let countries spend more on defense without triggering the bloc’s excessive-deficit procedure, Von der Leyen said.

If member states were to use the clause to raise defense spending by 1.5% of GDP on average, that would create fiscal space of nearly €650 billion over a period of four years, according to the commission president.

The spending proposal comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has pulled military and financial support for Ukraine and appears ready to walk away from NATO security guarantees for Europe, as he aligns with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Trump has repeatedly criticized European NATO members for not spending enough on defense.

“We’re living in the most momentous and dangerous of times,” Von der Leyen said. “The real question in front of us is whether Europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates, and whether Europe is ready and able to act with speed and with the ambition that is needed.”

Von der Leyen said various meetings of European leaders in recent weeks, most recently in London, show the answer to the question whether Europe is ready to spend is “resounding and clear.”

Only a handful of NATO members in Europe spent more than 2.5% of GDP on defense in 2024, and nearly a third didn’t meet the 2% target set by NATO in 2014, according to data from the alliance.

There is a short-term need to support Ukraine, and a long-term need for Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security, Von der Leyen said. She said member states are ready to invest in their own security if they have the fiscal means, hence the proposal to activate the national escape clause of the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact.

The proposed loans will be a new instrument, focused on joint armament spending to reduce costs and increase interoperability in Europe, the council president said. Areas of investment could include air and missile defense, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones, cyber and military mobility, according to Von der Leyen.

The commission also plans to study how more of the EU budget can be directed towards defense spending. Also on the table are measures aimed at accelerating the bloc’s savings and investment union and spending by the European Investment Bank.

“Europe is ready to assume its responsibilities,” Von der Leyen said. “ReArm Europe could mobilize close to €800 billion of defense expenditures for a safe and resilient Europe.”

“We will, of course, continue working closely with our partners in NATO. This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up.”

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——欧盟执行机构欧盟委员会提出了一项计划，该计划可在未来四年内释放约 8000 亿欧元（8410 亿美元）的国防开支，以应对俄罗斯的侵略并帮助乌克兰保卫自身。

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩在周四于布鲁塞尔举行的欧盟领导人会议前夕，提出了一项名为“重整欧洲”（ReArm Europe）的五点计划，旨在帮助欧盟增加安全支出。她表示，世界正处于重整军备的时代，欧盟27个成员国已准备好“大幅”增加国防开支。

冯德莱恩表示，这些计划包括向成员国提供 1500 亿欧元的贷款，以增强欧洲在防空和弹药等领域的能力，并启动一项财政豁免条款，允许各国在不触发欧盟过度赤字程序的情况下增加国防开支。

据欧盟委员会主席称，如果成员国利用该条款将国防开支平均提高到国内生产总值的 1.5%，那么在四年内将创造近 6500 亿欧元的财政空间。

这项支出提案出台之际，美国总统特朗普已停止对乌克兰的军事和财政支持，并似乎准备放弃北约对欧洲的安全保障，因为他正与俄罗斯总统普京结盟。特朗普曾多次批评欧洲北约成员国国防开支不足。

冯德莱恩说：“我们正生活在一个极其重要也极其危险的时代。摆在我们面前的真正问题是，欧洲是否准备好根据形势采取果断行动，以及欧洲是否准备好并能够以所需的速度和力度采取行动。”

冯德莱恩表示，最近几周欧洲领导人举行的各种会议，最近一次是在伦敦，都表明欧洲是否准备好支出这个问题的答案是“响亮而明确的”。

根据北约的数据，到 2024 年，欧洲只有少数几个北约成员国的国防开支占 GDP 的 2.5% 以上，近三分之一的成员国未能达到北约在 2014 年设定的 2% 的目标。

冯德莱恩表示，短期内有必要支持乌克兰，而从长远来看，欧洲需要承担更多自身安全责任。她指出，如果成员国拥有足够的财政资源，它们愿意投资于自身安全，因此提出了启动欧盟《稳定与增长公约》中国家退出条款的提议。

欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩表示，拟议的贷款将是一种新的工具，重点用于联合军备支出，以降低成本并提高欧洲的互操作性。据冯德莱恩称，投资领域可能包括防空和导弹防御、火炮系统、导弹和弹药、无人机、网络和军事机动性。

欧盟委员会还计划研究如何将更多欧盟预算用于国防开支。此外，旨在加快欧盟储蓄与投资联盟进程以及增加欧洲投资银行支出的措施也在讨论之列。

冯德莱恩表示：“欧洲已准备好承担其责任。‘重整欧洲’计划可以调动近8000亿欧元的国防开支，以建设一个安全且具有韧性的欧洲。”

“我们当然会继续与北约伙伴密切合作。现在是欧洲的关键时刻，我们已准备好挺身而出。”

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。