EU ministers back proposal of temporary exemption on defence spending

12/3/2025 6:17

European Union finance ministers on Tuesday backed a proposal to use the flexibility in the bloc's revised fiscal rules to spend more on defence without triggering disciplinary steps from Brussels for excessive borrowing, Poland said.



The ministers' talks follow an EU summit last week which agreed to boost defence spending by at least 800 billion euros over four years after U.S. President Donald Trump froze U.S. military aid to Ukraine and raised doubts about Washington's commitment to European allies.



The European Commission proposed allowing each EU country to raise defence spending by 1.5% of gross domestic product a year, for four years, without any disciplinary steps that would normally kick in once a government deficit is above 3% of GDP.



The move - known in EU jargon as the "coordinated triggering of national escape clauses" - would be well within the flexibility offered by the bloc's fiscal rules, designed to underpin the euro currency by limiting government borrowing.