The European Union has a new plan to spend $840 billion more on its own defense after President Donald Trump paused aid to Ukraine and peace negotiations hit a wall.
‘I do not need to describe the grave nature of the threats that we face, or the devastating consequences that we will have to endure if those threats would come to pass,’ EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Tuesday.
She said she had written a letter to the heads of state of all European governments outlining a ‘set of proposals’ to ‘rearm Europe.’
‘A new era is upon us,’ von der Leyen wrote in the letter.
The plan details ‘how to use all the financial levers at our disposal in order to help member states to quickly and significantly increase expenditures in defense capabilities, urgently now, but also over [a] longer period of time, over this decade.’
Countries in the EU would have access to loans of up to $158 billion for defense investment, according to the proposal. It also calls for relaxing strict debt ceilings agreed to by the bloc for defense spending.
‘This will allow member states to significantly increase their defense expenditures without triggering the excessive deficit procedure,’ she said, referring to the rule that requires nations to bring their deficits down if they breach a certain amount.
The proposal also involves using the existing EU budget to ‘direct more funds towards defense-related investments.’
‘With this equipment, member states can massively step up their support to Ukraine. So, immediate military equipment for Ukraine,’ she said.
The new defense plan comes as Washington recalibrates its relationship with Europe, and conservative Republicans push Trump to lead efforts to pull the U.S. out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
European leaders held an emergency summit over the weekend in London to discuss how to support Ukraine after the Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brought peace negotiations to an abrupt halt.
At that summit, European leaders discussed ways to keep military aid flowing, increase economic pressure on Russia, and establish a ‘coalition of the willing’ of European nations ready to offer forces to act as a safeguard against another invasion by Russia once the two sides reach a peace agreement.
‘This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up,’ said von der Leyen.
Even France’s Marine Le Pen, leader of the conservative National Rally party, called the U.S. action a form of ‘brutality.’
‘I consider the brutality of this decision to be reprehensible,’ she said of the move to pause aid.
‘It is very cruel for Ukrainian soldiers engaged in a patriotic defense of their country,’ she insisted, adding that it was ‘very questionable’ not to give the Ukrainians a warning before doing so.
The temporary pause will apply to all U.S. military aid not yet in Ukraine. It is expected to last until the White House determines that Zelenskyy is committed to peace talks.
‘We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,’ a White House official said.
After President Joe Biden shipped over a $500 million aid package on his way out the door in January, some $3.86 billion from previously approved aid packages remains, a defense official told Fox News Digital, including Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) and anti-tank weapons and thousands of artillery rounds and armored vehicles.