The European Union’s member states want to extend defence spending to maintain tempo with the threats going through the continent, its international coverage chief has warned.
Kaja Kallas, who served as prime minister of Estonia till July 2024, mentioned “each euro spent on college, healthcare and welfare [was] susceptible” if the bloc did not keep robust defences.
US President Donald Trump was proper to criticise Europe’s spending, which sits at a median of 1.9%, she added.
She additionally pointed to Russia spending 9% of its gross home product (GDP) on defence and mentioned Europe’s expenditure was “clearly not sufficient” in mild of the warfare in Ukraine.
“To forestall the warfare, we have to spend extra, that’s clear,” she advised the BBC World Service’s Weekend programme.
Kallas mentioned member states additionally wanted to work collectively to “strain” Russia economically, and hinted at a brand new sanctions package deal subsequent month to mark three years of the warfare in Ukraine.
The EU must be “inventive” by way of limiting Russia’s “capability to wage this warfare”, she mentioned, including that pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin “is the best way to finish this warfare as a result of Putin is the one who began it”.
Earlier than taking over the EU submit final December, Kallas repeatedly referred to as for greater ranges of defence spending whereas she was serving as Estonia’s first feminine prime minister.
In February 2024, she mentioned she needed Nato international locations to extend defence spending to three% of their GDP.
Alliance members dedicated to spending no less than 2% of GDP on defence after Russian forces seized Ukraine’s southern peninsula of Crimea and Moscow-backed proxies took management giant areas of jap Ukraine in 2014.
As Estonian prime minister, Kallas pledged greater than 1% of the nation’s GDP to Kyiv to assist bolster Ukraine’s warfare effort.
“If each Nato nation did this, Ukraine would win,” she advised the BBC final yr.
In line with Nato estimates for 2024, Estonia’s defence spending as a proportion of GDP was the second highest within the navy alliance.
In December 2024, Nato Secretary-Normal Mark Rutte mentioned member states must “shift to a wartime mindset” and spend “significantly greater than 2%” on defence.
Throughout his first time period, US President Donald Trump put strain on Nato members to extend defence spending and later referred to as for a dedication to fulfill 4% of GDP.
Shortly earlier than his second inauguration in January, Trump urged Nato’s European members to spend 5%, telling reporters: “They’ll all afford it.”
When requested whether or not she noticed the warfare concluding in Ukraine’s favour, Kallas mentioned that was “completely” nonetheless alive in her thoughts.
“I do not see some other choice actually. I imply, if we let the brutal aggression flourish, then we’ll see this in different components of the world,” she added.
She mentioned: “All of the aggressors or would-be aggressors on the earth are clearly taking notes how we react to Russia’s aggression.”
