Policy shift will allow the bloc’s capitals to redirect ‘cohesion funds’ amid Ukraine conflict and Trump victory
Brussels is changing its spending policies to potentially redirect tens of billions of euros to defence and security, as Russia’s war in Ukraine and Donald Trump’s return to the White House heap pressure on the EU to boost investment. The policy shift would apply to about a third of the bloc’s common budget, or some €392bn from 2021 to 2027, money that is aimed at reducing economic inequality between EU countries.
Poland in particular has been piling pressure on the commission to spend more on defence. Warsaw spent 4.1 per cent of its GDP on the military this year, double the Nato target, and it plans to reach 4.7 per cent in 2025. EU countries have spent relatively little of their cohesion funds so far because they have instead prioritised billions in so-called recovery funds made available in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. These expire in 2026.
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