European Union leaders are gathering in Brussels on Monday to discuss boosting Europe's military funding in the face of multiple threats, including Russia's war on Ukraine – which is about to enter its third year.
Organised by European Council President Antonio Costa, the exceptional defence retreat will involve British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The summit comes two weeks after US President Donald Trump's return to the White House with promises of a "quick end" to the Ukraine war.
But European leaders fear he will cut off crucial aid to Kyiv and force a ceasefire that favours Moscow.
"Europe needs to assume greater responsibility for its own defence," Costa told leaders in his invitation to the meeting.
Ahead of Monday's meeting, 19 of the 27 European Union members, including France and Germany, signed a letter urging the European Investment Bank (EIB) to loosen its rules on what it can fund and increase the amount of money available.
The EIB is the world's biggest multilateral public lender and has ploughed in billions of euros to help Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022.
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Defence readiness
"In light of the ongoing security challenges facing Europe, including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, it is crucial that we take decisive action to strengthen Europe's overall defence readiness and capabilities," the letter, dated Thursday, read.
Initiated by Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, the letter calls for an expansion of funding mechanisms to address defence, industrial and technological needs.
Poland, though at the forefront of calls to ramp up EU defence spending, refrained from signing, in line with its role of neutral arbiter as holder of the bloc's rotating presidency.
A spokesperson for the EIB said the lender had doubled "financing for security and defence projects in 2024" and plans "to double it again this year to a record high" of two billion euros out of a planned total of €95 billion.
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Increase NATO funding
Costa told reporters last Wednesday that the 23 EU members who also belong to NATO are likely to agree to raise the defence spending target above the current level of two percent when they meet for a summit in June.
"There is a very reasonable consensus among member states to continue on this path," he said in an interview with Portuguese public broadcaster RTP, as reported by Reuters news agency.
"Whether it's five percent, whether it's three percent, I don't know, it's a decision that member states will make within Nato."
Costa, a former Portuguese prime minister, said that countries must prioritise improving air defence, anti-missile and electronic warfare systems.
Trump has in the past thrown into question whether the United States would protect NATO members who did not meet the spending threshold, which he recently suggested should be raised to five percent of GDP.
More competitive
Spending on defence technology and industry will strengthen the EU economy's competitiveness, Costa said, adding there would eventually be a need for a discussion on "common funding" to collective defence.
France and the Baltic states are pushing for joint European Union borrowing to fund defence spending. The outcome of that debate may depend on next month's national election in Germany, which has so far opposed the idea.
In a separate development, Finland's government on Friday announced plans to build a new TNT factory to shore up Finnish and European ammunition production.
The new factory, valued at over €200 million, will be constructed by Finnish explosives maker Forcit in the city of Pori on the country's west coast.
Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said in a statement that the project would "will also enable Finland to continue its support for Ukraine in the long term".
(with newswires)
