BRUSSELS – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday presented a five-point ‘REARM Europe’ plan for boosting defence spending, only hours after US President Donald Trump reportedly froze military aid to Ukraine.
“We are in an era of rearmament,” von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels, adding that “Rearm Europe could mobilise close to €800 billion of defence expenditures for a safe and resilient Europe.”
Her announcement presented an increase in the initial investment needs of €500 billion that the European Commission last year had estimated would be needed over the next decade for boosting arms production and procurement in the EU and Ukraine.
“The question is no longer whether Europe’s security is threatened or whether Europe should shoulder more of its responsibility for its own security,” 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,” she added.
In Brussels, von der Leyen told reporters she had outlined her five-point ‘Rearm Europe’ plan in a letter to EU leaders, seen by Euractiv.
A first step would include activating the escape clause of the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact, which limits budget deficits among EU countries, to allow for higher national defence spending without triggering the bloc’s excessive debt procedure.
As a second step, the EU will propose €150 billion in loans to boost defence spending for joint procurement in a wide range of capabilities such as air defence, drones, military mobility or cyber defence.
A third option would be to propose “additional possibilities and incentives” for EU countries if they decide to use cohesion programmes to boost defence spending.
The fourth and fifth options would be to mobilise private capital through the EU Savings and Investment Union and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Von der Leyen’s proposals came hours after US President Donald Trump ordered a halt of all Ukraine military aid, stepping up pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after the bitter White House showdown last Friday.
Her proposals come ahead of the emergency EU leaders’ summit on Thursday, where EU countries are expected to discuss the funding options and decide which are acceptable.
Decision-making that would normally take months will now have to be accelerated in light of the urgency amid Trump’s peace push and aid cuts, EU diplomats say.
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