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Poland hopes for German backing on EU debt for armaments

by AI | 07.Feb 2025 | Europe in brief AI

Where should the money for the European armament against Russia come from? For German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, joint European debt for defense investments is out of the question. Poland hopes that this will change after the federal election.

Radoslaw Sikorski, Foreign Minister of Poland, speaks at the Ukraine reconstruction conference. Photo: Britta Pedersen/dpa

Brussels – The Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski wants the future German government to agree to take on European debt for armament projects.

“I really hope that the next German government will take another look at the issue of defense bonds,” Sikorski told journalists in Brussels.

He also supported the idea of establishing a special bank for armament, modeled after the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The latter was founded in 1991 to support the development of the market economy in Central and Eastern Europe.

Due to the threat from Russia, numerous countries had recently expressed their openness to jointly raising loans on the capital market for the expansion of defense capability in the EU. However, Germany and countries like the Netherlands and Austria have categorically rejected this so far.

According to estimates by the European Commission, additional defense investments of around 500 billion euros will be required over the next ten years. Possible EU projects include a European air defense system and enhanced security of the Union’s eastern land border. (January 6)