After European Union leaders approved on Thursday plans to bolster the bloc’s defence, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said the decision will allow member countries to take a “big step forward” in raising military spending.
“All conclusions were adopted without any major changes to the wording. Yes, there were some, but nothing drastic. I think this extraordinary meeting was quite successful, even if brief,” Nausėda told reporters in Brussels after a special European Council summit.
“All these objectives are geared toward opening up additional opportunities with the help of the European Commission, and this will undoubtedly allow all countries seeking to increase defence funding to make a big step forward,” he said.
EU countries endorsed the European Commission’s plan to mobilise 800 billion euros to “re-arm Europe”, primarily by allowing member states to spend more on defence.
According to Nausėda, the plan was approved by 26 member states. Following a change to the wording proposed by Slovakia, Hungary remained the only country opposing the package and no attempts were made to persuade Budapest.
“The Hungarian prime minister expressed a strategically different view on this issue, which probably surprised no one,” the Lithuanian president said.
Nausėda also mentioned the 20-billion-euro support package for Ukraine, which is being considered following the US suspension of its military aid to the country this week.
“We have an absolute majority of countries supporting Ukraine, and most importantly, we’ll continue working. The European Commission will also keep working on this sum of money, which, although it wasn’t mentioned, is a really significant amount – about 20 billion euros – to be given to Ukraine in the near future,” he said.
“The Commission president made a good remark that while some may believe this financial leverage is relatively small compared to, for example, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds, it has a multiplying effect,” the Lithuanian leader said.
“Banks working with the EIB can also start changing their policies toward the defence industry, seeing that the EIB itself is shifting its strategy,” he added.
The plan also included a proposal to set 2030 as the target date for Ukraine’s EU accession. However, according to Nausėda, the issue will need further discussion.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
