European Union (E.U.) leaders holding emergency talks in Brussels agreed Thursday to begin a massive increase in defence spending in the wake of President Donald Trump’s demands for less reliance on U.S. taxpayer largesse in hardware, funding, and intelligence sharing.
With the growing realization they will now have to fend for themselves and leave the protective cover of U.S. dollars, countries that have faltered on defence spending for decades held the emergency talks to explore new ways to beef up their security, as Breitbart News reported.
“Today history is being written,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters after the summit ended.
Trump Effect: E.U. Leaders Meet to Discuss Boosting Military Self-Reliance https://t.co/U61dVP0mvU
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 6, 2025
AP reports she said the 27 E.U. leaders are “determined to ensure Europe’s security and to act with the scale, the speed and the resolve that this situation demands. We are determined to invest more, to invest better and to invest faster together.”
The pledge underscored a sea change in geopolitics spurred on by Trump demands European nations be responsible for their own futures and meet their military requirements with their own funds.
The leaders heeded Trump and signed off on a move to loosen budget restrictions so that willing E.U countries can increase their military spending.
They also urged the European Commission to seek new ways “to facilitate significant defense spending” in all member states, a statement said.
The EU’s executive branch estimates that around 650 billion euros ($702 billion) could be freed up that way.
UK Says Trump Right to Demand Higher Military Spending From NATO Allieshttps://t.co/GJXAw3Kx5p
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 11, 2025
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a staunch supporter of Trump, refused to endorse part of the summit statement in favor of Ukraine.
But the 26 other E.U. leaders approved the bloc’s stance there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Kyiv’s input and the Europeans must be involved in any talks involving their security.
Trump has previously criticized the cost of the war in Ukraine for U.S. taxpayers through major military aid packages and made clear he wants to shift more of the fiscal burden back across the Atlantic.
He has also challenged NATO members to raise defense spending to five percent of their overall economic output, as Breitbart News reported.
The Europeans have so far been sidelined in the U.S.-led negotiations with Russia.
