EU leaders to debate how to raise defense spending at February 3 retreat with Starmer and Rutte

BRUSSELS Jan. 13 () –

The leaders of the European Union will debate how Europe has to increase military spending and take more responsibility for its security at the informal summit on February 3, focused on the continent assuming greater weight in defense matters in the face of the paradigm shift that The Russian invasion of Ukraine meant for European security.

The castle of Limont, near Liège, in the east of Belgium, will host an informal summit under the name of ‘retreat’ with which the president of the Council, Antonio Costa, wants to ground the debate on Defense needs, in a meeting that will unite European leaders with the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte.

Furthermore, the appointment comes at a time when Donald Trump’s return to the White House makes the debate on military investment and security in Europe more pressing, since Trump has proposed ending the war in Ukraine and in A ceasefire to the conflict may come in 2025.

In the letter of invitation to the leaders, the former Portuguese Prime Minister emphasizes that Europe “needs to assume greater responsibility for its own defense” and “be more resilient, more efficient, more autonomous and a more reliable security and defense actor.” , also within NATO, where it emphasizes that the bloc’s member states must be a “stronger transatlantic partner.”

For this purpose, Costa will underline the need for the 27 to increase their Defense budget and despite the boom in spending in recent years, he recalls that “significant additional investments” are needed in Defense to replenish stocks, improve preparation and reinforce European industrial base.

In parallel, he highlights that EU members must cooperate more among themselves in defense matters “to maximize economies of scale and reduce costs, guarantee interoperability, ensure stable and long-term demand and avoid duplication”, after recalling that the Military spending and the need to invest more in technology is not an “affordable” challenge for individual Member States.

With an eye on future decisions of the 27 in the field of Defense, something that will be helped by the ‘white paper’ prepared by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, the Portuguese leader emphasizes that the withdrawal has We have to specify the military capabilities that have to be developed collaboratively by the EU, as well as think about financing instruments and joint spending on Defense to get the most out of the community budget.

In this sense, the debate on the issuance of Eurobonds for military spending hovers above, an issue that is still very divisive but that several Member States support, including some that traditionally advocate containment of spending, such as Denmark.

In this regard, the Defense Commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, has opened himself to joint debt on behalf of the 27, while Costa for the moment asks the leaders of the 27 to reflect on “what additional options can be considered” in view of the “considerable” financial needs represented by the Defense item.