Today (19.3.2025) is expected to be released by Commission the ‘White Bible’ for defensewhile tomorrow and tomorrow (20 & 21.3.2025) EU leaders will specify the 800 billion euro package to support European defense.
The three -day – which begins today – and the subject has the further steps of converting the European economy to a “war economy” one day after the Voting the Constitutional Review of Debt Brake in Germany Its main objective is an increase in spending on German defense by up to € 45 billion per year (€ 180 billion in the next 4 years). In the so -called White Bible, the Commission will describe to the EU Member States how it believes they must respond to the current threats posed by Russia and other aggressive players.
According to a draft of the German News Agency, seven areas will be determined in which the existing gaps of military capacity should be prioritized. These include air defense and missile defense, unmanned aircraft systems and electronic warfare.
“If Europe wants to avoid war, it must be ready for war,” the text said. Russia is irrevocably on the march to a war economy and continues its offensive war in Ukraine, while preparing for future controversy with European democracies.
The Commission had already announced that about € 800 billion would be mobilized for equipment programs. Among other things, EU loans totaling € 150 billion and exceptions from the strict EU debt rules are provided for this.
Relaxation of debt boundaries and low -profile loans
The White Paper summarizes the way this will be achieved in 20 pages. The Lithuanian Commissioner for Defense Industry, Andrius Kubilius, will present the details today in Brussels.
Europe’s armies are to be re -equipped massively and, as in Germany, the pan -European debt limits are to relax, while the European Commission also wants to offer Member States loans at favorable interest rates. Unprecedented amounts of billions are to be invested in the production of weapons.
And in this context, it is now important for Europe not only to wake up, but also to erect its stature and create its own deterrent and defensive potential. This is the purpose of the White Bible for Defense, “says Tobias Cremer, a SPD foreign policy spokesman in the European Parliament.
Prior to the European elections he was a diplomat in the external service and, like the majority of MEPs, he believes that planned billions of equipment are right- although under conditions: “Money on their own will not solve the problem- we must also consider investing. We must do this in a coordinated way at European level. “