Von der Leyen plan:

EU wants to pump up to €800 billion into the military

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

(Bild: AP/Virginia Mayo)

The EU Commission wants to relax the EU stability criteria in order to increase national defense spending. This was proposed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday. In addition, there is to be a new fund with a volume of 150 billion euros to support the 27 member states with investments in defense. This could mobilize a total of 800 billion euros in financial resources.

Europe's security is under threat in a very real way, said von der Leyen in Brussels. "This is Europe's hour and we must rise to it," she explained. "We are in an era of rearmament and Europe is ready to massively increase its defense spending."

Trump cuts military aid for Ukraine
The Europeans see themselves under pressure to act because US President Donald Trump has announced that, three years after the start of the war, he is suspending military aid to Ukraine for the time being, putting the country under attack from Russia in severe hardship.

Trump wants to achieve peace, according to the White House. The aid will therefore be suspended and reviewed. Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky had once again incurred Trump's wrath with his statement that a deal to end the war was still a long way off.

EU billions for weapons and cyber security
Von der Leyen's plan includes a new fund of 150 billion euros to increase defense investments in the EU, including military aid for Ukraine. The funds are to be made available in particular for air and missile defense, artillery systems, drones and cyber security.

"This is about better and joint spending," said von der Leyen. This would allow the member states to pool their demand, make joint purchases and increase support for Ukraine at the same time. In addition, the escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact is to be activated. It should allow member states to incur new debt for defense spending without having to fear an EU deficit procedure.

Total package could amount to 800 billion euros
Von der Leyen hopes that her proposal, together with private capital and additional funds for the European Investment Bank, could mobilize almost 800 billion euros for defence. She presented her plan shortly before a special summit on Ukraine on Thursday. There, the EU heads of state and government want to discuss, among other things, how to further ramp up the European defense industry.

Special EU summit on Thursday
She has written a letter to the EU heads of state and government on the "ReArm Europe Plan". The EU heads of state and government, including the new Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP), will meet in Brussels on Thursday for a special summit. The Commission will propose activating the escape clause of the Stability and Growth Pact.

Advance a "quantum leap" for Baerbock
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed von der Leyen's proposal to support loans worth 150 billion euros for armaments spending. The Green politician sees the project as a quantum leap towards strengthening the defense of the European Union.

FPÖ calls for an immediate ceasefire
The FPÖ, on the other hand, called for an immediate ceasefire and "real peace negotiations". "The EU would now have the chance to support a diplomatic solution together with the USA instead of continuing to blindly steer towards escalation," said the FPÖ's EU delegation leader Harald Vilimsky according to the press release.