Europe EU finance ministers wrestle over arms financing
As part of Europe's rearmament efforts, the acting Federal Minister of Finance Jörg Kukies is campaigning for the joint procurement of armaments. If "many European countries place an order together and therefore order more tanks, drones, software, frigates and submarines than if each one does it alone with different countries, then the order is naturally larger," said Kukies at a meeting with his EU colleagues in Warsaw. This leads to lower costs.
12.04.2025, 14:34
SDA
EU wants to massively upgrade
The EU wants to rearm heavily - also in response to the USA's change of course in its Ukraine policy under President Donald Trump. How this can be financed was part of the debate at the finance ministers' meeting. The heads of state and government had recently agreed on various measures for this, which the EU Commission had previously proposed. These include EU loans amounting to 150 billion euros and an exception for defense spending in the EU debt rules. A total of 800 billion euros are to be mobilized over the next four years.
The discussion in Warsaw was based, among other things, on a paper by the Brussels think tank Bruegel. In it, the authors propose a so-called European Defense Mechanism (EDM) - an intergovernmental, common defense fund. This could buy and own defense equipment and charge the members a fee for its use, according to the paper. In this way, extensive funds could be made available for defense without driving up national debt. High national debt is a concern for many countries in the rearmament debate - such as France.
The EDM proposal was viewed "positively by some, but rather skeptically by others", continued Kukies. In view of the fact that existing instruments were not really being used, the question arose as to whether now was the time to create "completely new institutions with all their complexity". Spain also reiterated the idea of using seized Russian assets. The Commission was open to further proposals on defense financing.
French Finance Minister Éric Lombard said that if such a mechanism meant more debt, Paris could not accept it, as the national deficit had to be reduced. However, the discussion about the initiatives is important. "It is clear that the development towards a more integrated European defense will reduce the cost of defense because we will support each other."
