More than half of the EU countries activate emergency to increase defensive costs
16 Member States of the European Union plan to apply a state of emergency that allows them to make defense investments that exceed the established budget restrictions of the block.
Source: Politico
Details: According to Politico, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland, intend to activate the EU provisions, which allows them to make additional defense.
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12 of them have already submitted appropriate requests to the European Commission.
Literally: « The use of exceptions involves the possibility of increasing defense costs to 1.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP) annually for four years, without violating the fiscal rules of the EU. »
Details: The European Commission has called on the States to make the appropriate decision by April 30 to ensure the coordination of fiscal policy in the face of pressure from financial markets. At the same time, this deadline is not required, Politico reports.
Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Kerpo on Wednesday, April 30, stated that his country would make a decision « over the next months ».
In turn, Italian Finance Minister Jancarlo Georgeetti stated that Rome intends to reach NATO targets in 2% of defense costs, changing the accounting methodology to include additional expenditures. According to him, the country is expecting a NATO summit in June, where new cost standards will be considered.
Prehistory:
- In accordance with research Stockholm International Institute for Peace Problems Research (SIPRI) The world military expenditures in 2024 reached $ 2.718 trillion, which is 9.4% more than 2023 and became at least the annual growth of at least the end of the Cold War.
