EU can allocate 93 billion "covid" euros for defense – von der Leyen
The European Union may redirect 93 billion euros of unused funds, originally allocated for economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, to the defense sector following warnings from the Trump administration about a possible reduction in support for European security.
According to Censor.NET, the Financial Times reports this with reference to sources.
This option was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a meeting of the center-right European People's Party.
As noted, we are talking about 93 billion euros of residual funds from the Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF), the total amount of which was 800 billion euros in grants and loans.
The European Commission spokesperson noted that the use of residual money would require changes to the fund's rules, a decision that must be supported by the majority of EU countries and the European Parliament.
According to the newspaper, the European Union is increasing its investment in the defense sector after the administration of US President Donald Trump warned that it could cut off security support for the continent. Europe's additional defense funding needs are estimated at around 500 billion euros over the next ten years.
Von der Leyen also said that the EU could repurpose regional development funds. In addition, the option of "joint European financing" is being studied.
Journalists have noted that in recent months, EU officials have been discussing a plan to create an intergovernmental defense funding mechanism that could include Britain and Norway. This option would allow to circumvent the veto of some neutral or friendly to Russia European countries that do not support the use of a common fund for defense.
Earlier, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called the US decision to impose duties unreasonable and promised that unjustified tariffs against the EU would not go unanswered.
