EU takes unprecedented defense step amid Ukraine war: List of countries
Photo: The EU took an unprecedented step in the field of defense due to the war in Ukraine (illustration/Getty Images)
Some EU countries are implementing emergency measures to increase defense spending. They have referred to the war in Ukraine as "exceptional circumstances," the press release of the European Council says.
As the European Commission noted in its message on March 19, Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and its threat to European security represent such exceptional circumstances, impacting state finances and requiring an increase in defense capacity.
In this context, the European Council initiated a coordinated request to activate the national exemption clause.
"So far, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Finland have decided to request the activation of the clause," the statement says.
In other cases, the planned increase in defense capacity is already underway.
"The above is without prejudice to the specific character of the security and defense policy of certain Member States. The clause covers a period of four years and a maximum of 1.5 percent of GDP in flexibility," the press release notes.
The report also specifies that using flexibility will ease the transition to higher defense spending at the national level in member states while ensuring debt sustainability.
NATO defense spending
Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened European countries with exiting the NATO mutual assistance pact if they do not increase defense investments.
Trump called on NATO allies to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, even though the current standard for NATO countries is 2%.
Among those failing to meet even this quota are Germany, as well as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and several other EU countries.
At the beginning of February, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the future defense spending quota for NATO countries will be significantly higher than 2% of GDP. A decision on the amount of contributions will be made in the coming months.
Furthermore, in late January, Lithuania and Estonia agreed to reach a 5% defense spending target.
