Record increase in military spending in the EU in 2023
Military spending in the European Union has reached a record amount of around 270 billion euros, around 30 billion more than in 2022, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, announced on Thursday in a speech at the headquarters of the European Defense Agency (EDA).
This is the ninth consecutive year of growth for EU countries, many of which are demanding a significant increase in spending due to the war in Ukraine. In 2022, six of the 27 member states increased their military spending by more than 10% and even by more than 30% in the case of Sweden, a country awaiting ratification of its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
France, in turn, increased its military spending by only 0.7% in 2022, according to the EDA. Overall, the Twenty-Seven spent 1.5% of its gross domestic product on defense, far from NATO’s 2% target. 22 are members of the alliance. According to the European Agency, around 58 billion euros were earmarked for investments in the defense sector.
With “60 billion euros per year we can achieve great things”, starting with a “unified defense market” to avoid the dispersion of resources and achieve economies of scale, emphasized Charles Michael. “Given the war on our continent, we can guarantee long-term contracts to manufacturers,” he continued, adding: “Produce and we buy.” »