The European Union presents a plan to rearm with up to 800,000 million euros
ReArming Europe seeks to provide rapid support to Ukrainian troops in the face of the U.S. withdrawal and to shield the continent's security in the long term, the president of the bloc explained.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, announced Tuesday a plan to allocate up to 800 billion euros ($845 billion) to the continent's defense.
"We are in an era of rearmamaent," von der Leyen justified in a public appearance in which she said her proposal would serve both "respond to the short term urgency" of helping Ukraine and the "long term need to take on more responsibility for our own european security."
To boost military investment by member countries, ReArming Europe includes a loosening of fiscal rules, allowing them to exceed the previously set deficit limit, and €150 billion loan lines for industries such as air defense, missiles, artillery and drones. It also seeks to incentivize defense investments in the bloc's budget.
The announcement of the multi billion-dollar plan came hours after the Trump administration suspended all military aid to Kiev. The cut-off of supplies would be temporary, until, in the eyes of the White House, Volodimyr Zelenski shows willingness to sign a peace agreement. Following a tense summit between the two presidents, Trump had advanced that he believed U.S. help made his Ukrainian peer believe he had an advantage at the negotiating table, discouraging him from making a deal: "I don't want advantage, I want PEACE."
Two days after the tense meeting, the leaders of several European countries and Von der Leyen showed their supportZelenski at a summit in London, promising to continue backing his war efforts.
That Europe should take a more active role in its own defense is one of the demands that Trump has been raising since his first term in office. In recent weeks, ahead of a meeting with the Republican, the United Kingdom announced an increase in its defense spending 2.3% to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2027.
EU members are scheduled to hold a security meeting in Brussels on Thursday, where they are expected to discuss Von der Leyen's proposal. "This is a moment for Europe," the German politician said, "and we are ready to step up."
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