EU Considers Loosening Debt Rules to Boost Defense Spending

Ursula von der Leyen proposes activating a special clause to enable significant increases in military budgets across member states.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to propose the activation of a special exemption clause in EU debt rules to facilitate higher defense spending.
The proposal is driven by growing security concerns from Russia and a reduced U.S. commitment to European defense under President Donald Trump.
Currently, EU nations allocate an average of 2% of GDP to defense, but Trump has called for NATO members to raise this to 5%, which would require substantial budget increases.
The EU Commission estimates that approximately €500 billion in additional defense investments will be needed over the next decade for projects like air defense systems and border security.
The exemption clause, previously used during the COVID-19 crisis, would allow EU countries to temporarily exceed debt and deficit limits for defense-related expenditures.