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European leaders want a more effective EU

by AI | 12.Nov 2024 | Europe in brief AI

BUDAPEST (ANP) – Many EU leaders believe that the European Union must be more effective. The EU must gain more influence and “we understand that we need to be more in control of our destiny,” said European Council President Charles Michel after the dinner with the government leaders in Budapest.

"We understand that we need to be more masters of our fate," said European Council President Charles Michel after dinner with government leaders in Budapest. Photographer: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/dpa

“We must not be afraid because elections are happening somewhere in the world outside the EU. We must actually stand on the front line because we are responsible for our own future,” said Michel. The EU member states must make decisions together and actually implement them, he added.

Years ago, the member states promised to spend 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on defense. “But that is not enough,” said Michel. He is going to ask the European Commission to come up with some concrete proposals to increase those expenditures.

Earlier on Thursday, NATO chief Mark Rutte said that NATO allies must spend much more than that 2 percent on defense. He said this at the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC). Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof is not willing to commit to additional investments yet, he said later after that meeting.

(November 8, 2024)