The EU Council President António Costa summarizes the situation on the defense side after the EU countries' informal summit in Brussels on Monday.
We must do more, better, stronger, and faster. And we must do it together, emphasizes Costa at the press conference afterwards.
Therefore, the EU countries will now proceed with discussions on how to jointly address various deficiencies that countries see on the defense side, such as air defense and ammunition.
Budget Opening
The EU Commission simultaneously promises to review the flexibility in the otherwise strict budget rules. The idea is to thereby enable increased defense investments. This type of opening has long been demanded by several countries in southern Europe, which are otherwise pressured by high national debts and budget deficits.
Regarding other financing of defense, Costa simultaneously promises continued work on other ideas that have been raised, including "more innovative" solutions. In clear text, this means the joint EU loans that several EU countries would like to see – but not Sweden and Germany.
I'm not going to start a discussion about borrowing large sums to now solve problems that many countries should have solved a long time ago, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (The Moderate Party) on site in Brussels.
Cautious NATO
Even within NATO, there is strong pressure for increased defense investments, as a response to harsh words from the USA's new-old President Donald Trump about higher defense budgets and access to Greenland.
At the same time, caution is evident. NATO's Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who participated in the EU summit as an extra lunch guest, was careful to support both Denmark and the USA in the Greenland discussion.
We have very good discussions with Denmark and all member countries, but it is clear that Trump is right when it comes to doing more in the area furthest north, said Rutte and added:
It's not just about Greenland, but also about Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Canada, and even the USA itself. We will work together within NATO to ensure that we do what is required, said Rutte.
