EU Member States' defence budgets

AT A GLANCE EU Member States' defence budgets Russia's war on Ukraine has been a wake-up call for many EU Member States' defence budgets. Rising from €218 billion in 2021 to €326 billion in 2024, a further increase of at least €100 billion is projected by 2027. Despite these significant increases, most experts note that current geopolitical developments will require much more. EU Member States' defence budgets The 23 EU Member States that are also NATO members (now Sweden and Finland have joined NATO) have long been guided by NATO's 2 % of GDP defence spending commitment formalised at the 2014 Wales Summit. Allies agreed to 'move towards' the 2 % 'guideline within a decade', but in 2021 only 7 of the 21 Member States that were also NATO members spent 2 % of GDP on defence. EU Member States participating in Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO – all except Malta) also agreed to 'regularly increase defence budgets in real terms' under their PESCO commitments. While defence budgets have increased in real terms since 2018/2019 (previously they had not even reached pre-2008 financial crisis levels), this follows years of chronic underinvestment in defence in most Member States. In 2021, their combined defence budgets stood at €218 billion. Meanwhile, strategic rivals such as Russia and China increased their defence budgets by 300 % and 600 % respectively over the last decade, compared to a collective 20 % increase in EU countries (to 2022). The European Commission notes...