A study by Bruegel and Kiel found that defence spending for members of the European Union should increase from the current 2% to about 4% of GDP.
The authors of the Belgian Bruegel think tank and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany said this would need to be equivalent to 1.5% of the EU GDP to mobilize 300,000 soldiers .
The investigation said the EU would need 50 additional army brigades, 1,400 tanks, 2,000 infantry combat vehicles and 700 cannons to prevent the Baltics’ rapid Russian breakthrough.
“This is more combat power than is present in the combination of French, German, Italian and British forces,” the study said. Europe also needs to produce around 2,000 long-range drones each year.
The study states that “German leadership and commitment will be important.”
“Germany needs to increase its German defense spending from 80 billion euros ($84 billion) to 140 billion euros ($146 billion), or about 3.5% of GDP.
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The authors suggested that defence spending by EU countries should increase from the current 2% to 3.5% of GDP to 4%. Half of this could be funded by general European debt and used for joint procurement, they said.
Research co-author Guntram Wolff said in a statement: “Economically, this is manageable. …That’s far less than, for example, had to be mobilized to overcome the crisis during the COVID pandemic.”
The survey found that Moscow has significantly increased its military capabilities since the start of the Ukrainian War in February 2022.
Russia said it had 700,000 soldiers in Ukraine by the end of 2024, and had significantly increased its production of tanks and armored vehicles.
President Donald Trump is urging members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to spend more on defense.
Earlier this week, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz gave all NATO members a June deadline, fully meeting their 2% defence spending target.
NATO Executive Director Mark Latte spoke last month on WEF, saying, “If Ukraine loses to restore deterrence for the rest of NATO, then at this point it’s priced far higher than what we think. It’s going to increase spending and strengthen industrial production. It’s not something that’s extra for billions. That’s trillions of extra.”
In 2014, NATO members set goals for all members to spend at least 2% of their GDP in the military by 2024.
According to 2024 interim NATO estimates released last June, 23 out of 31 NATO members achieved the 2% target.
She said Europe is in conflict with “illegal” Russia over Ukraine and requires a “bold approach.”
“If you borrow money, it’s going to make everyone’s interest rates quadruple,” he said. “So, everyone pays it that way or you put taxes to pay it too. So doing it across Europe is a very unpopular thing.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
