A little more than half of the 27 EU member states have officially requested the European Commission for more budgetary opportunities to increase defense spending, raising concerns that Brussels' ambitious plan to rearm may not reach its target of EUR 800 billion, Euractiv reports, writes UNN.
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Only 14 countries, as noted, have officially heeded Brussels' call to activate the "escape clause" at the national level, which allows EU countries to increase military spending by another 1.5% of annual GDP over the next four years without violating the bloc's strict budgetary rules.
This scheme is the most important pillar of the European Commission's ReArm Europe plan, designed to counter the military threat from Russia and mitigate the weakening of US support for European security, the publication notes.
Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia have officially requested the activation of the clause, the European Commission said on Monday. The Czech Republic and Croatia have also said they will apply, but have not yet made an official request.
Several other member states, including Spain, the EU's fourth largest economy, may also follow suit in the coming days, according to EU officials and diplomats.
"There may be others who are going to [apply], but formally we have received 14 requests at this point," said Balázs Újvári, spokesman for the European Commission on economic affairs.
In addition to the proposed activation of the "escape clause", which Brussels says could increase defense spending by €650 billion over the next four years, the ReArm Europe plan includes up to €150 billion in European Commission loans to member states to finance joint defense projects.
But, as the publication notes, "many richer EU countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, are unlikely to apply for a share of the so-called SAFE loans, as they borrow at lower rates than the European Commission."
Analysts and diplomats have also expressed skepticism that the activation of the "escape clause" will increase defense spending by €650 billion.
EU officials say the figure is an "estimate" based on the assumption that all 27 EU countries will "gradually and steadily" increase defense spending by 2028 by another 1.5% compared to 2021 levels.
Hypothetically, the figure of €650 billion could be achieved by fewer member states if they increase their military spending at a faster rate, officials said.
Four of the 14 applicants for the "escape clause" - namely Belgium, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia - are subject to the "excessive deficit procedure" (EDP) or formal reprimand for violating the bloc's 3% fiscal threshold.
Countries applying for activation of the "escape clause" could potentially be excluded from the EDP, Újvári said on Monday.
The additional "flexibility" provided by the activation of the "escape clause" will be "taken into account" in Brussels' future assessments of member states' deficits, he said.
France, Italy, Malta and Romania are also subject to EDP.