EU proposes state of emergency to boost defense spending – Politico

According to Ursula von der Leyen, EU countries are currently living in “extraordinary times”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a state of emergency to force EU countries to increase defense spending, four EU officials told Politico .

“The idea, floated during a closed meeting with national leaders on Monday, would allow governments to significantly increase defence spending without breaking EU budget rules, which allow countries to deviate from their spending plans ‘in the event of a severe economic downturn’ or in ‘exceptional circumstances beyond the government’s control,'” the newspaper said.

At the same time, von der Leyen told reporters that she would “use the full range of flexibility we have in the Stability and Growth Pact to allow for a significant increase in defence spending.”

“For extraordinary times, the Stability and Growth Pact also provides for extraordinary measures. And I think we are living in extraordinary times,” the politician added.

During a previous meeting, the European Commission president also proposed excluding defense spending from the state budget deficit, but did not say how exactly to do this, one official said.

Officials added that invoking the emergency rule would allow countries to spend more on defense without changing the national spending agreement that came into force last year after long and difficult negotiations.

“If the increase [in spending] is more on defense, they might say these are exceptional times. I mean, we now have a threat from Russia and the security guarantees of Europe from the United States seem to have weakened,” explained Zsolt Darvas, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel.

(C)UNIAN 2025