Poland pushes for huge EU defense money pool as Russia worries grow
Poland wants to lead EU-wide defense funding talks during its upcoming presidency. The plan needs about 500-billion euros over next decade while Europe faces east-side risks
Andrzej Domanski‚ Polands finance chief wants to shake-up EU defense spending when his country leads the block starting jan-2024. The push comes as Europe deals with Russia problems and Donald Trumps possible white-house comeback
The EU needs lots of cash - about 500-billion euros for the next 10-yrs (which is way more than usual defense spending). “Europe needs to take the threat from the east from Russia seriously; there will be no going back to business as usual“ Domanski told reporters
Two main ways to get this money are on the table: using EUʼs regular budget or making a special money-pool. The first choice needs all 27 countries to say yes (including Hungary which is friends with Moscow); the second one lets non-EU friends like Britain join in
The current setup isnt working right - for example Europe has 12 different tank systems which is just crazy. Ministers will meet up in warsaw during apr-2024 to talk about money choices‚ while waiting for the new defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius report coming in early march
Some legal stuff needs fixing first though. Germany has rules against shared debt‚ but they can work around it if its a one-time emergency thing (like they did with covid help). The whole plan might end up looking like that 800-billion euro covid fund or maybe more like the euro zones rescue fund
