A summit will be held in Brussels on Thursday, at which European leaders will approve fresh defence backing mechanisms. This is simply a step towards expanding Europe's independency in terms of security, but besides a motion towards the United States. The gathering will be attended by the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenski.
New defence funding
The EU leaders are to consider organising the EU-US summit proposed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It is unofficially said that specified a gathering would be convened by the host of EU summits, president of the European Council, Antonio Costa. However, it is not known whether he would be invited to it. The Thursday summit is besides intended to show that the European Union is ready to invest in its own safety and become independent of the United States as a safety guarantor.
Plan von der Leyen
To this end, the leaders are to give the green light to the European alignment plan presented on Tuesday by the Head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. A key component of the plan is the EUR 150 billion loans that will be granted according to the needs of the associate States. The European Commission besides wants to loosen the budgetary rules so that countries can increase their defence spending without compromising the excessive deficit procedure.
European Investment Bank
In turn, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is ready to extend the scope of backing to non-offensive military investments, which means, for example, military bases, but not ammunition or weapons. To date, the EIB has financed only dual-use projects. Most associate States responded positively to the von der Leyen plan. Although out of EUR 150 billion, the EU will be able to cover only part of its needs and the anticipation for the EC to increase spending to EUR 650 billion will depend solely on the will of the capitals.
Defence Union
There is simply a belief in Brussels that the plan is only a first step towards a defence union. "This will be the beginning of a fresh chapter in the defence union book that we are beginning to write" – said the EU source. The von der Leyen plan will be clarified on 19 March in the alleged White Paper. Then they're expected to start working on it. The policy of the future German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, could encourage further initiatives in the field of defence, among which the most far-reaching thought would be Eurobonds.
Support for Ukraine
In the conclusions, leaders will confirm their support for Ukraine, but without specifics. "The situation is besides dynamic for present to find what safety guarantees will be, although many countries are already declaring their readiness to give them. The EU wants to support Ukraine to make its position as strongest as possible in peace talks" stressed the EU source. In its conclusions, the leaders are to call for the work on further support for Ukraine, including the initiative of the EU advanced typical for abroad and Defence Kai Kallas. Estonian policies have proposed that the EU should fund fresh military support for Ukraine by the end of this year. The money would come from contributions from associate States proportional to their national income.
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The European Union seeks independence
