After Years of U.S. Pressure, EU Finally Steps Up with Massive Military Spending Plan
In a major vindication of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy approach, European Union leaders have endorsed an ambitious €800 billion ($860 billion) defense spending plan that could fundamentally reshape the continent’s military posture for decades to come. The plan, proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and dubbed “ReArm Europe,” represents Europe’s belated acknowledgment that it must take primary responsibility for its own security and for supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.
The sweeping initiative delivers precisely what Trump has demanded since his first presidential campaign: Europeans paying their fair share for defense and taking the lead in supporting Ukraine, a conflict that directly threatens European security far more than American interests. By applying pressure through aid suspensions and blunt rhetoric, Trump has achieved in weeks what American administrations spent decades requesting with little success.
The ‘ReArm Europe’ Plan: Answering Trump’s Call
The plan endorsed by EU leaders on Thursday consists of several key components designed to rapidly increase Europe’s military capabilities:
- A €150 billion ($162 billion) loan program backed by the EU’s common budget to finance joint defense investments
- Relaxation of EU fiscal rules, potentially unlocking €650 billion ($700 billion) by allowing member states to exclude defense spending from budget deficit calculations
- Expanded use of EU cohesion funds for defense purposes
- Broadening the European Investment Bank’s mandate to include defense projects
- Accelerating capital markets reforms to attract private investment in defense
“We are at the era of rearmament, and Europe is ready to massively increase its defense spending,” von der Leyen declared, according to Euronews, emphasizing both the immediate need to support Ukraine and the longer-term imperative of European strategic autonomy.
European Council President Antonio Costa framed the agreement as a defining moment. “Today we have shown that the European Union is rising to the challenge, building the Europe of defence and standing with Ukraine shoulder to shoulder,” Costa said, according to Reuters.
Trump’s Strategic Pressure Works Where Diplomacy Failed
The timing of Europe’s defense awakening directly follows Trump’s calculated moves to force Europe to recognize its responsibilities:
- Trump’s unexpected phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February, signaling a potential U.S. disengagement
- The contentious White House meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that ended with the U.S. suspending military aid and intelligence sharing
- Trump’s explicit threat on March 7 that the U.S. might not defend NATO allies who don’t meet defense spending targets. “If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them,” Trump said, characterizing this stance as “common sense.”
These deliberate pressure tactics created a moment of crisis that compelled European leaders to reckon with the geographic reality that Trump has consistently highlighted: Europe, not America, faces the most immediate threat from Russian aggression.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country borders Russia and spends over 4% of GDP on defense, captured the urgency of the moment. “Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race. And it must win it,” Tusk said, according to Reuters. “Europe as a whole is truly capable of winning any military, financial, economic confrontation with Russia – we are simply stronger.”
French President Emmanuel Macron went further, stressing that Europe’s defense transformation must proceed regardless of what happens in Ukraine. “Whatever happens in Ukraine, we need to build autonomous defence capacities in Europe,” Macron said, as reported by Reuters.
The Art of the Deal: Trump’s Long Campaign Bears Fruit
Trump’s foreign policy approach has emphasized that nations must bear responsibility for their own security, especially when they have the economic means to do so. Since his 2016 campaign, he has insisted that European nations are wealthy enough to defend themselves and should not rely so heavily on American protection.
Throughout his political career, Trump has criticized NATO members for failing to meet the alliance’s defense spending target of 2% of GDP, arguing that the U.S. shoulders a disproportionate burden for European security. During his 2024 campaign, he frequently claimed that European countries spent only around $10 billion on Ukraine while the U.S. spent hundreds of billions.
While these specific figures contain some exaggeration – Europe collectively provided substantial aid to Ukraine – Trump’s core argument about burden-sharing has proven effective. His negotiating strategy of creating leverage through unpredictable actions has forced European leaders to face reality: they can no longer take American security guarantees for granted and must invest in their own defense capabilities.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is meeting with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia this week, reinforced this message, telling reporters on March 10 that Ukraine would need to make territorial concessions as part of any peace agreement. “The Russians can’t conquer all of Ukraine, and obviously it’ll be very difficult for Ukraine in any reasonable time period to sort of force the Russians back all the way to where they were in 2014,” Rubio said, according to The New York Times.
Challenges Remain in Implementing Trump’s Vision
Despite the headline-grabbing €800 billion figure, significant obstacles remain to fully realizing Trump’s vision of a self-sufficient European defense posture:
Funding disagreements: Several “frugal” EU member states, led by Germany and the Netherlands, have resisted French calls for joint EU borrowing similar to the COVID-19 recovery fund. The compromise plan relies heavily on national spending within a more flexible fiscal framework rather than truly common European defense financing.
Political divisions: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has cultivated close ties with both Trump and Putin, refused to sign the EU’s declaration on continued support for Ukraine, highlighting ongoing divisions within the bloc.
Industrial capacity constraints: Europe’s defense industry has been hollowed out by decades of post-Cold War peace dividends and would struggle to rapidly scale up production. According to a Kiel Institute study, much of Europe’s increased defense spending since 2022 has gone to purchase American weapons systems rather than building European capabilities.
Coordination challenges: Without centralized planning, there’s a risk that national spending increases could lead to duplication and inefficiency rather than truly complementary European capabilities.
A New Transatlantic Bargain on Trump’s Terms
The most profound outcome of Europe’s defense transformation is the emergence of a new transatlantic relationship more aligned with Trump’s vision: a partnership where Europe takes primary responsibility for its own security and the defense of Ukraine, while the U.S. remains engaged but not overburdened.
Von der Leyen insisted on Sunday that the U.S. remains Europe’s ally despite Trump’s tough approach. “Of course the United States are allies,” she said, according to France 24. “We are allies, but that means all allies must take their responsibilities.”
Trump’s pressure tactics have effectively forced Europe to confront the reality that the days of American security subsidies are over. The continent must develop the military capabilities to defend itself against Russian aggression and support Ukraine in its fight, which primarily affects European rather than American interests.
If Europe successfully implements its ambitious defense plans, it would represent one of Trump’s most significant foreign policy achievements: a fundamental restructuring of the transatlantic relationship to better serve American interests while strengthening global security through a more militarily capable Europe.
Disclaimer: This article presents analysis of European defense policy and U.S.-European relations based on publicly available information. The assessment of the impact of Trump administration policies represents the author’s interpretation of events and does not necessarily reflect the official positions of any government.
