European Union leaders met at a special summit on Monday hosted by European Council President António Costa on European defence, which was also attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
According to a statement issued by the European Commission, the informal meeting was an opportunity for EU leaders to discuss various aspects of the future of EU defence, such as collective capabilities, financing means, and relations with strategic defence partners.
It further said there was a growing agreement among leaders that the EU must do more to ensure its own defence capabilities.
During the closing press conference, together with President Costa and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President von der Leyen stressed her determination to find the means to adequately finance the EU’s defence needs.
“We first of all need more public funding. I am willing to explore and will use the full range of flexibilities we have in the new Stability and Growth Pact to allow for a significant increase in defence spending. Furthermore, the second leg would be that we are working with the EIB to increase the flexibility of lending practices. And, of course, we need more private funding, so we need to have a dialogue with the private banking sector, so that it modernizes its lending practices,” the President said.
