Izvestia estimates that EU countries are ready to increase military spending

Six EU member states will be able to painlessly increase military spending by 1.5% of GDP, Izvestia estimates. These include Denmark, Ireland, Cyprus, Greece, Luxembourg and Portugal, which finished 2024 with a budget surplus.

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Ten more EU countries keep budget expenditures in excess of 3% of GDP, so they are also potentially able to increase military spending. These include Sweden, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, and Latvia.

At the same time, 11 EU countries exceeded the acceptable budget deficit level of 3% of GDP set by the stability and Growth pact. The record holder is Romania, whose expenditures exceeded revenues by 9.3% of GDP in 2024. Poland's budget deficit was 6.6% of GDP, while France's was 5.8% of GDP. At the same time, the budget deficits of Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are around 5% of GDP. Violators of EU budget legislation also include Spain, Belgium, Malta, Finland and Italy.

Earlier, the EC announced an 800 billion euro rearmament program for the European Union. To finance the costs, Brussels offers EU countries to increase their defense spending by 1.5% of GDP. Thanks to this, the EC intends to raise 650 billion euros for the production of weapons. Another €150 billion for defense investments is planned to be obtained through loans.