EU leaders discuss defense spending, but gaps remain

EU leaders on Thursday discussed strengthening their own defense capabilities amid doubts about future U.S. protection for Europe, but divisions persist.

The topic was among those dominating the leaders' summit as U.S. President Donald Trump's recent dealings with Ukraine and Russia have raised fears that EU members can no longer base their defense on NATO.

The discussions centered on the European Commission's defense proposals, which include a call for European countries to pool resources on joint military projects and buy more European arms.

"We have to rearm ourselves because otherwise we will be the next victims of Russian aggression," Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda said.

But some southern European capitals have been more reticent, reflecting a division between those geographically closer to Russia that have given more aid to Ukraine and those farther away that have given less, as a share of their economies.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he did not like the term "rearm," which the European Commission has used extensively in its push for more defense spending.

"It is important to take into account that the challenges that we face in the southern neighborhood are a bit different to the ones that eastern flank face," he said.

The Commission's plan proposes easing fiscal rules to unlock up to €650 billion in additional defense spending, along with a new €150 billion low-interest loan program funded through joint borrowing.

Some, like Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, urged the EU to go further in financing defense spending and consider giving member states grants and not just loans.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed a preference for "truly common European instruments that do not directly burden the debt of states."

Others, like Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, said they were still very much opposed to joint euro bonds. Schoof insisted that the €150-billion program of loans is the maximum he would tolerate.

(With input from Reuters)