“There is nothing to raise funds on national defense,” said Ursula Von der Leyen, head of the European Commission.
The head of EU executives told reporters that the lack of mention of Donald Trump’s name has a new sense of urgency in the geopolitical field, and that “basic things” have changed about 100 days ago since she took office on December 1.
“Our European values, democracy, freedom, the rule of law are under threat,” Von der Leyen told reporters at a press conference on Sunday. “We see sovereignty, but we also put forward Teke’s promise. Everything becomes a deal.”
Von der Leyen was repeatedly asked about the matter and said that the United States remains an ally, although “we have no question of the discussion point.” “From the EU perspective, I think it’s a very strong wake-up call,” she said.
EU leaders last week promised a substantial increase in military spending, part of Von der Leyen’s 80 billion euros (£670 billion) to allow member states to obtain loans and increase national debt without being fined under Bloc’s strict fiscal rules.
However, many member states want to take a step further to fund direct grants rather than loans to increase defense spending.
Asked on Sunday about such suggestions, Von der Leyen said: “There is nothing on the table. I’m open to anything necessary.” Such a move would require support from Germany, which opposes a joint defense loan led by Olaf Scholz, led by the outgoing coalition government.
However, the upcoming center-right prime minister Friedrich Merz reached a swift agreement with his Social Democratic coalition partners to change Germany’s constitution to develop spending plans for defense and infrastructure, which made him highly hope for changes in Berlin.
Despite Von der Leyen repeatedly portraying the United States as an ally, EU officials fear Trump has suspended U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, mocking Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who seems to tolerate Vladimir Putin’s deadly bombing of Ukrainian families and civilian funds.
Although Von der Leyen talked about support for Kiev so Ukraine “can continue fighting”, she did not directly mention the short-term military aid proposal by EU foreign policy director Kaja Kallas. The former Estonian prime minister called on member states to speed up efforts to assist Ukraine in 2025, including through the provision of 1.5 million rounds of ammunition, air defense systems and drones “as soon as possible.”
In the latest devastating attack on Ukraine this weekend, wounding at least 14 people, Calascar has stepped up calling for the EU to increase military support, “otherwise, more Ukrainian civilians will pay the highest price.”
Asked about the Kallas proposal and military aid to Ukraine in 2025, von Leyen said: “We will have to strengthen any questions” and mentioned how Kiev benefits from the 80 billion euro plan – loans and financial flexibility are not yet completed.
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The Commission said the EU has provided Ukraine with 5.2 billion euros in military aid, which is comparable to the United States.
Von der Leyen said her 80 billion euro plan could be “the foundation of the European defense alliance” and raises the possibility of “teams”[ing] A similar country with other interests (such as the United Kingdom, Norway or Canada). “One open question is whether these non-EU European countries can participate in a billion European defense contract. Macron is leading the “buy Europe” policy, but Germany and Poland show the openness of purchasing expensive defense equipment from countries outside the group.
Without a definite answer, von der Leyen seems to be inclined toward a more open approach. She said the company already has strong cross-border relations. “We don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we have to consider an intelligent mechanism to use this collaboration that has been established with high quality.”
She stressed that despite two plans to delay achieving this, the EU is still willing to phase out Russian gas. “I’m very clear about the gas from Russia,” she said. “It’s absolutely.”
Despite sharp declines in import pipeline gas, coal and oil, Europe purchased a record 18.8 million tons of Russian LNG in 2024.
