“It is a budget that matches Europe’s ambition, that confronts Europe’s challenges and that strengthens our independence,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (pictured May 2023 in Japan) said Wednesday on the EU’s new trillion-dollar budget proposal that seeks to boost Europe’s defense spending. File Photo by G7 Hiroshima Summit/UPI | License Photo
The European Commission on Wednesday advanced a trillion-dollar budget proposal that would boost EU defense spending by billions through the next three years.
The $2.31 trillion proposal would see roughly 35% go to climate and biodiversity projects with the overall budget framework amounting to around 1.26% of the European Union’s average gross national income.
“It is a budget that matches Europe’s ambition, that confronts Europe’s challenges and that strengthens our independence,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a press briefing.
The chief of the EU’s executive arm said it would allocate more than $152 billion for space and defense spending in a fivefold increase from current EU spending levels.
Von der Leyen called the budget “larger, smarter and sharper.”
If approved, individual contributions by member EU states would remain unchanged as EU leaders look to at least five new streams of revenue to cover costs.
“This is a budget for the realities of today, as well as the challenges of tomorrow,” von der Leyen added.
The European Union is looking to slap new taxes on tobacco items, non-collected e-waste and corporate contributions by companies generating an annual average of 6.8 billion euros, or more than $7 billion.
But some member nations have reservations, such as the Netherlands, France and Germany.
In March, German lawmakers eliminated a debt restriction on its national budget to allow Germany’s federal government a greater borrowing capacity in order to approve a massive defense spending plan.
It’s “too high” of a proposal and the EU needs to focus on how its existing funds can be better spent, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen argued on Wednesday in a statement.
Meanwhile, it could still see changes in as the budget process plays out with final approval required by the 27 EU states and European Parliament.
