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EU Members Seek to Activate Emergency Provisions for Increased Defense Spending

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Maryna_kulakova
Maryna Kulakova
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EU Members Seek to Activate Emergency Provisions for Increased Defense Spending
A worker installs the new EU flag as the old flag of Ukraine is replaced with the new one on the building of the Zaporizhzhia City Council in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on April 16, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

Several European Union member states are pushing to activate emergency provisions that would allow them to make defense investments exceeding the EU's established budgetary limits.

This was announced in a press release from the EU Council on April 30.

Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Finland intend to activate this EU provision, which allows them to make additional defense investments without violating budgetary constraints.

The exception allows defense spending to be increased by up to 1.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually for four years, without breaching EU fiscal rules.

The EU Council believes this will support the transition to necessary increases in national defense spending within member states, while maintaining debt sustainability.

“This will contribute substantially to bolstering the security of the European Union and the protection of our citizens while reinforcing its overall defence readiness, reducing its strategic dependencies, addressing its critical capability gaps and strengthening the European defence technological and industrial base accordingly across the Union,” the statement added.

The need to build defense capacity was explained by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the threats it poses to European security.

“As set out by the European Commission in its communication of 19 March, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its threat to European security constitute such exceptional circumstances and impact public finances through the necessitation of the build-up of defence capabilities,” the statement reads.

In early March 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the “Rearming Europe” plan. This new EU defense strategy aims to mobilize €800 billion (approximately $864 billion) to strengthen the Union's military capabilities. EU leaders have already approved the plan.

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