Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU Commission is ready to proceed quickly with proposals to ease budget regulations to promote increased defence spending by member nations.
Ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, Dombrovskis said,
“It is clear we need to move very fast, as regards to spending by member states and additional flexibility. We expect to work on modalities in the coming weeks, so we are ready to move fast.”
As reported by officials, European Union governments regard a more comprehensive definition of what defence investment is to qualify for more government spending that would not activate punitive EU action for extreme borrowing under the EU’s fiscal rules.
How does Ursula von der Leyen justify lifting spending limits?
Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, said last week the commission would consider exempting defence from European Union limits on government spending amid mounting calls from U.S. President Donald Trump for Europe to fund its own security. Von der Leyen further stated the lifting of limitations on military spending would obey the same logic as the reduction of borrowing limitations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why are some EU nations hesitant about new defence exemptions?
According to sources, not all European countries have endorsed the idea yet, pleading particular treatment for defence already exists in the regulations. However, Poland, which carries the rotating European Union presidency that establishes the agenda for the EU work, earlier this month claimed that the present interpretation of defence investment as only tools like tanks or planes is too little.
How does Poland plan to balance defence and fiscal credibility?
Meanwhile, Poland’s Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski stated he was convinced defence spending could be grown without damaging the credibility of the EU’s fiscal regulations.
“Credibility is absolutely key. We do believe we can act within the rules,”
He stated before the meeting in Brussels.
“We need to very precisely describe them, so the countries that want to spend more, can do it without breaking those fiscal rules. Europe needs to spend more, we need to take our security, our defence way more seriously.”
