At a Special European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday 6 March, the leaders of the twenty-seven countries of the European Union pledged to accelerate defence spending and investment in the light of the new international context. This is marked by the Russian threat on Europe’s doorstep and by the US saying it will no longer guarantee security in Europe (see EUROPE 13593/2).
In their conclusions, the EU heads of state or government called on the European Commission to finalise its proposals of 4 March to rearm Europe, which aim to mobilise €800 billion, including €150 billion in the form of loans, to strengthen the continent’s defence capabilities (see EUROPE 13592/1).
The European Council stressed the need to “continue to substantially increase expenditure on Europe’s security and defence”, according to the text of the conclusions.
In this context:
- it welcomes the intention of the Commission to recommend that the EU Council activate, in a coordinated manner, the national ‘safeguard clause’ under the Stability and Growth Pact, as an immediate measure, “while ensuring debt sustainability”;
- it calls on the Commission “to propose additional funding sources for defence at EU level, including by means of additional possibilities and incentives offered to all Member States”.
The remobilisation of unused cohesion policy funds is not clearly mentioned in the text of the conclusions, but this is what the Commission is proposing. In fact, there is an underspending of €350 billion on these funds, as countries have given priority to the Next Generation EU programme for the relaunch.
However, Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, has declared that she is leading a battle to “prevent resources from cohesion policy funds being forcibly diverted to defence spending”.
Other options under consideration. Some believe that this debate does not end with this menu of financing options. Additional solutions are being studied, such as mobilising the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or Eurobonds to finance European defence. This is why the European Council conclusions state that the European Council looks forward to the ‘White Paper’ on the Future of European Defence (due on 19 March), “including further elements and options therein that aim to substantially boost financing for European defence and to strengthen the European defence technological and industrial base”.
France, Germany, Poland, Italy and Spain, in particular, would be open to the idea of ‘Eurobonds’ for defence, while certain ‘frugal’ countries, such as the Netherlands, are said to be hostile to this idea. The lines are moving, including in the Nordic countries, notes one observer.
Capabilities. For the first time, EU leaders are identifying the key capability areas in which investment should be made: air and missile defence, artillery systems, including deep precision strike capabilities, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems, strategic enablers, including in relation to space and critical infrastructure protection, military mobility, cyber, artificial intelligence and electronic warfare.
Eastern borders. The European Council underlines that the defence of all EU land, air and maritime borders contribute to the security of Europe as a whole, in particular as regards the EU’s eastern border. A sentence was added to the final version, at the request of Spain in particular: “In addition, considering the threats on the rest of the EU borders, stresses the importance of their defence”.
Satisfaction. António Costa, President of the European Council, said: “Today, we are delivering - we are moving decisively towards a strong and more sovereign Europe of Defence“. “We are determined to invest more, to invest better and to invest faster together”, said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. The Commission will make detailed proposals before the European Council on 20 and 21 March. In addition to the ‘White Paper’, on 19 March the Commission will present an ‘omnibus’ of simplifications in the field of defence.
Luis Montenegro, the Portuguese Prime Minister, spoke of “a very constructive, ambitious, balanced and flexible proposal to strengthen defence policy and, above all, its financing as part of a joint project”. “As far as funding is concerned, the Commission has put forward some good proposals, which have also received very broad support. This applies first and foremost to the credit financing instrument”, emphasised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Nuclear. Emmanuel Macron, the French President, said that he will give until “the end of the semester” to see “whether new forms of cooperation can be developed” within the EU around the possibility of allowing other allied countries to benefit from France’s nuclear deterrent. “We are going to open a phase in which our technicians will exchange views”, followed by discussions at the level of heads of state or government, he said after a European Council during which, he assured, several leaders came to see him to talk about this issue.
To see the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/frz (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur, with the editorial staff)