The EU has greenlit a new $169 billion defense fund to bankroll ammo, drones, and critical infrastructure, Bloomberg reported.
Financed through joint borrowing, it will give loans to EU members and countries such as Ukraine to boost the arms industry.
The hiked spending is pitched as a response to Donald Trump’s scale-back of US defense in Europe.
Besides the $169 billion program, looser fiscal rules could unleash up to $904 billion in more military spending.
Such loans would go to finance what Europe “lacks,” like:
missiles
missile defense systems
ground capabilities