The EU “cannot become a truly regional and global actor without a relevant military dimension,” former EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in 2016, before Donald Trump became U.S. President for the first time.
“The appetite to debate seriously the question of the defense capabilities of Europe is back,” EU Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin said last week.
Without U.S. forces, the Bruegel think tank in Brussels estimates, Europe could need 300,000 troops and an annual spending hike of at least 250 billion euros ($262 billion) to deter Russia.
To help address shortfalls, the European Commission is easing its fiscal rules so EU member countries can spend more on defense, at least temporarily.
In Ukraine alone, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for 150,000 European troops to ensure the conflict doesn’t flare up again after a ceasefire, but Europe’s armies are too small.
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