EU countries decided to increase defense spending and instructed the European Commission to submit a relevant report by June 2024. This is stated in the document adopted after the meeting of the heads of EU member states. RIA News.
“Increasing defense preparedness will require additional efforts by member states, in particular (…) significantly increasing defense spending and investing together more efficiently and quickly,” the document says.
The European Council instructed the EU Council and the European Commission to examine possible options for mobilizing funds and to submit a report on this issue by June.
The European Investment Bank will need to improve its lending policy to the EU defense industry.
The two-day EU summit started in Brussels on Thursday, March 21. The official agenda of the event includes issues of increasing the defense capacity of the European Union, as well as the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East.
On March 22, the European Union decided Stepping up military aid to Ukraine.
Previously in the EU stated Regarding the purchase of weapons to Ukraine using frozen funds from the Russian Federation.