Fifteen EU countries are allowed to over-spend on defence
Brussels (dpa) – European Union finance ministers on Tuesday allowed 15 member countries to deviate from the bloc’s strict budget rules in order to take on additional debt for defence expenditure.
EU countries are obliged to keep their deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and their debt ratio below 60 percent of GDP.
Russia’s war against Ukraine and its threat to European security prompted EU countries to improve their defence capabilities. The heightened pressure to rearm has made it difficult however for many of the EU’s 27 member countries to invest in defence while adhering to the bloc’s spending limits.
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia are now granted a deviation from the rules.
Under the new exemption, capitals can spend an additional 1.5 percent of GDP on defence without having to face penalties.
Germany had also applied for the exemption but still needs to submit a long-term budget plan to the European Commission before its application can be assessed.
In March, the European Commission presented its ‘Readiness 2030’ plan of some 800 billion Euro that are to be mobilised for rearmament projects. This included a new 150 billion Euro fund paired with temporarily exempting certain defence investments from the bloc’s strict debt and deficit limits. (8 July)
