The 27 EU countries have approved the historic Defense plan, based on the Rearm Europe presented earlier this week by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, which includes the relaxation of fiscal rules for countries to invest massively in the military sector or the creation of a European instrument of 150,000 million euros in loans.
The total boost of the program amounts to a maximum of 800,000 million, although the Commission itself points out that it is almost impossible to deploy it in its entirety. The vast majority of the action will rely on national budgets. For this, countries will have an annual fiscal limit of 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the next four years. This means that their deficit can deviate by that proportion as long as it is due to investments in Defense, pushing countries that spend less, such as Spain, to substantially increase their national expenditure. In fact, the Spanish government has already changed its tone and is now open to reaching 2% of GDP in military spending before 2029, a date it had maintained until now but which has become completely outdated.
The plan signed in Brussels also includes the flexibilization of cohesion funds to redirect funds to military spending, and leaders ask the European Investment Bank (EIB) led by Nadia Calviño to get much more involved in military spending. The former First Vice President of the Government has already announced, in a letter sent to leaders last Tuesday, that she will relax the restrictions of the institution, including the investment limitation of 8,000 million in the military field. The EIB has a budget of almost 100,000 million and currently invests barely 2% in Defense, something that leaders agree needs to change. The leaders have also drawn up a list of "priority areas" to strengthen their capabilities, a document that will guide immediate investments.
And, very importantly, everything agreed today is a first step in the major Defense deployment that the European Union must face in the short and medium term. It is a very important one, of course, but there will be more actions to support Ukraine and confront Russia, as clearly stated in both the document and the statements of the member countries. "The most important thing is to be very frank about rearming. I don't think we have much time: spending, spending, and spending on Defense and deterrence is the most important message," said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen upon arrival at the meeting.
"The decision on these 150,000 million and other proposals is obviously not enough, it is a massive step but not sufficient," added Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. And other countries bordering or very close to Russia such as Sweden, Finland, or Sweden have also pressed for all governments to increase spending. The usual austerity of the northern countries is a thing of the past, and Germany will even amend its Constitution to undertake a major military investment program. Europe has changed because the world has changed.
Within the meeting, community sources point out that a series of countries, including Spain, have insisted that the instrument of 150,000 million be made available through grants and not loans. The text clearly states that it will be loans, so that is unlikely to change now, but in Brussels, this pressure is being analyzed as a first step towards a possible request for Eurobonds to be paid by the EU and not by the countries.
The document is also specifically aimed at threats on the eastern flank, that is, in Eastern Europe. But, also at the request of Spain or Italy, the 27 countries also acknowledge that there are threats coming from the southern flank. "The southern countries also have significant challenges regarding security and the protection of our citizens and also of the EU as a whole," said the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, upon arrival at the summit, adding that the concept of security must be 360º. This point has also been included in the final text.
The total unanimity that the Defense document has generated has not been achieved, however, in the other major point of the exceptional summit being held this Thursday in Brussels: Ukraine. Hungary has decided not to sign the document, something that was almost certain in Brussels given that the country's president, Viktor Orban, is very close to both the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin.
The approved text supports peace under the criteria of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Ukraine's presence in the talks and with conclusions "firmly supported by 26 member states". "Ukraine has sought peace from the first minute of the war, and today I have presented the first steps needed for peace and have asked allies to support them," Zelensky himself posted on his social media after participating in the meeting.
And this morning, the President of the European Council, António Costa, stated that the EU has supported Ukraine "from day one" of the war, will continue to do so "now and in eventual peace negotiations, when we decide that the right time has come to negotiate". "And more importantly, in the future as a member state of the EU," he added. A document, words, and overwhelming support that Orban would never endorse and, as Costa himself pointed out in the press conference after the summit, shows that this country is "alone". "One alone does not create division," he emphasized.
With this support, Zelensky has announced that he will travel to Saudi Arabia next Monday to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. "After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners" to work on "lasting peace," he assured on his social media profile.