site.btaSixteen Member States, Including Bulgaria, Want Budget Rules Relaxed to Spend on Defence

Sixteen European Union countries will ask to be allowed to temporarily waive budget stability rules in order to spend on defence, the EU said on Wednesday, quoted by AFP.

The European Commission presented a White Paper on the future of European defence last month, proposing, among other things, that member states use up to 1.5% of their GDP over four years on military spending without fear of violating budget rules that cap deficits and public debt.

Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland have decided to request the activation of this budgetary derogation clause.

EU countries that want to rearm due to the Russian threat and the risk of a reduction in US commitments to the European continent had until the end of April to declare their intentions.

Twelve of them have officially requested to take advantage of this clause, according to the European Commission, and four have declared their intention to do so, according to the EU Council. In a statement, the European Commission said that Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia have already made such a request, and more countries are expected to do the same at a later stage, reported Reuters.

The clause should allow the mobilisation of up to EUR 650 billion by 2030 for rearmament on the continent, the EC said in March. Several countries, including France, Spain and Italy, have so far not shown interest, despite promising to increase their military spending.

The twenty-seven member states increased their defence spending by over 31% since 2021, reaching a total of EUR 326 billion in 2024.