The EU will increase defense spending by €200bn over the next few years to address the vulnerabilities of the European defense complex.
This was stated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen following a meeting of the EC Board.
‘The return of the war to Europe has highlighted the negative impact of years of defense underfunding. We have lost decades in terms of investment due to all these (budgetary) cuts. At the same time, member states are now overcoming this trend. They have already announced an additional 200bn euros for defense spending over the next few years,” said von der Leyen.
She added that it is now necessary to ensure that this money is spent in a coordinated way to fill the gaps in capabilities identified in both the EU and NATO. Such investments will allow long-term strengthening of the production base of the European defense complex.
At the same time, the European Commission asks to consider the system of joint defense orders, as it better meets operational needs, both in terms of funding and production, in particular, using the potential of a wide innovation network at the level of medium-sized businesses.
Also today Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission will provide Ukraine with a new package of macro-financial assistance of 9bn euros.