Europe needs to carry out a rearmament amounting to several hundred billion euros in the coming years. Where will the money come from – and on what should they be spent? This will be discussed at a webinar on 2 April.
Europe needs to rearm in order to replace the American security guarantee that has been in place since World War II. This will entail very high costs, with calculations indicating several hundred billion euros in the next few years.
On 19 March 2025, the European Commission will present a White Paper on the future of defence, followed two days later by the Spring meeting of the European Council. A foretaste of what is to come was given in relation to the European Council meeting on 6 March, where Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a package totaling up to €800 billion. Of these, up to €650 billion would be invested by the Member States, whose investments would fall under country-specific exemptions in the EU fiscal framework; €150 billion would come from common borrowing backed by the EU budget, for lending to Member States.
This webinar will discuss the Commission's White Paper and the European Council's conclusions, but above all the ways forward to finance a European defence that also may include countries outside the EU.
