President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday presented a five-part rearmament plan for Europe, which could mobilize around €800 billion for defense spending.
This is stated in a statement by von der Leyen, posted on the European Commission's website.
"The question is no longer whether Europe's security is threatened in a very real way. Or whether Europe should shoulder more of the responsibility for its own security. In truth, we have long known the answers to those questions. 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 the speed and the ambition that is needed," wrote Ursula von der Leyen.
The first part of this ReArm Europe plan is to unleash the use of public funding in defence at national level. Member States are ready to invest more in their own security if they have the fiscal space.
President of the European Commission propose to activate the national escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact. It will allow Member States to increase significantly their defence expenditures without triggering the Excessive Deficit Procedure. For example: If Member States would increase their defence spending by 1,5% of GDP on average this could create fiscal space of close to EUR 650 billion over a period of four years. The second proposal will be a new instrument. It will provide EUR 150 billion of loans to Member States for defence investment.
"We are talking about pan-European capability domains. For example: air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition drones and anti-drone systems; but also to address other needs from cyber to military mobility for example. It will help Member States to pool demand and to buy together. Of course, with this equipment, Member States can massively step up their support to Ukraine. So, immediate military equipment for Ukraine. This approach of joint procurement will also reduce costs, reduce fragmentation increase interoperability and strengthen our defence industrial base. And it can be to the benefit of Ukraine, as I have just described. So this is Europe's moment, and we must live up to it."
The European Commission has announced a comprehensive five-part rearmament plan to strengthen Europe's defense capabilities. The plan includes utilizing the EU budget to direct more funds toward defense investments, with additional incentives for Member States to increase defense spending through cohesion policy programs. Additionally, the European Commission aims to mobilize private capital by accelerating the Savings and Investment Union and leveraging the European Investment Bank. The initiative, ReArm Europe, could potentially mobilize up to €800 billion for a safer and more resilient Europe. Ursula von der Leyen emphasized that "Europe is ready to take responsibility and collaborate with NATO to ensure the continent’s security."
