Fenella McGerty
Despite significant rates of growth in defence spending over the last two years, European countries are now responding to demands from across the Atlantic and from regional allies for further uplifts required to fill any gaps created by a US retrenchment, not just from Ukraine, but also from wider regional security commitments. Significant announcements have been made in recent weeks, with countries increasingly concerned about the reliability of the US as a strategic ally.
Chief among these was the proposal from Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission (EC), on 4 March, for a ‘ReArm Europe’ programme that seeks to mobilise up to EUR800 billion (USD878bn) in funding for defence. The plan, alongside commitments to bolster European support for Ukraine, was ‘firmly supported’ by 26 of the 27 EU leaders (Hungary being the exception) at a Special European Council meeting on 6 March.
Significant shifts are also evident at the country level, with Germany’s remarkable proposal to ease the country’s debt brake to finance defence, the United Kingdom’s commitment to increase its budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, Denmark’s DKK50 billion (USD7.3bn) Acceleration Fund for defence, and Belgium’s reported aim to accelerate its plan to increase its defence budget from 1.3% of GDP to the 2% benchmark, which has a current target of 2029.
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