European Union leaders arriving in Brussels Thursday urged a revolutionary change to rebuild military infrastructure after decades of neglect and create a brand new security architecture in order to counter Russia.
The leaders at the emergency meeting will discuss a security proposal from the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive arm, that could mobilize as much as $863 billion in additional national spending, including $150 billion of E.U. loans to member states for defense investment.
Western allies are rushing to boost defense spending in preparation for President Donald Trump’s decision to water down America’s security commitment to Europe, which will upend a central pillar of the E.U.’s defense policy. Germany announced this week that it will unleash hundreds of billions of euros to step up its own defense investments.
“Europe must take up this challenge of the arms race and it has to win it,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said ahead of the meeting. “We will need to restart everything, but I am convinced that this is a turning point when the E.U. understood the challenges ahead.”
The E.U., typically slow on contentious topics, is intent on showing it can move fast when needed. Trump shocked the bloc into swift action by blindsiding both Ukraine and European allies with his direct outreach to Vladimir Putin and aligning with Russian demands.
“This is a watershed moment for Europe,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. “Europe faces a clear and present danger and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself and defend itself.”
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who was only sworn in last month, described Trump as “a real bully” as he arrived at the summit. “You find yourself blinking your eyes” as the U.S. president cuts back support for Ukraine and European security, he added.
One roadblock to the E.U. moving swiftly is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the most Russia-friendly E.U. leader, who has threatened to block the summit’s conclusions over its support for Ukraine.
Orban has a history of obstructing crucial E.U. matters, taking things down to the wire only to compromise at the 11th hour. And complicating the matter, the E.U. needs him to renew sanctions against Russia in the coming weeks.
The E.U. was initially hoping to move forward on an extra €20 billion of military support for Ukraine, but a mention of this package disappeared from the latest draft seen by Bloomberg.
Germany has called for the E.U. to consider a long-term reform of its fiscal rules to allow countries to make bigger defense expenditures, Bloomberg reported this week. The proposal appeared to be gaining traction among the leaders.
“We need a long-term change of the rules to make sure member states can make their own decisions on defense spending,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said ahead of the summit.
“It is about damn time,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, speaking of the E.U. push. “This is about something we’ve been asking for for a long time.”
