EU announces new plan to boost military aid to Ukraine
- 5 March, 11:55
The European Commission president has unveiled a new €800 billion defence plan to boost the continent’s defences and to provide urgent military support to Ukraine. Being one of the biggest defence packages in the EU history, the plan includes €150 billion in loans to member states for defense investment.
Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the 27-member bloc has entered “an era of rearmament” in response to escalating security threats.
Presenting the “ReArm Europe” package in Brussels, von der Leyen stressed: "We are in an era of re-armament, and Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending, both to respond to the short-term urgency to act and to support Ukraine, but also to address the long-term need to take on more responsibility for our own European security.”
“We are talking about pan-European capability domains: air and missile defence, artillery systems, missiles and ammunition, drones and anti-drone systems, as well as cyber defence and military mobility,” she went on saying.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s European Council meeting, von der Leyen said: “This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up.” The proposals “could mobilise close to €800bn of defence expenditures for a safe and resilient Europe”, she added.
The annuncement in Brussels came after the US administration’s decision to pause military aid to Ukraine after the angry exchange in White House between the two countries’ leaders. The unruly Oval Office meeting on Friday was followed by a crisis meeting in the UK at which EU leaders reiterated support for Ukraine.
