Armament spending in the European Union will reach a new record this year, amounting to 381 billion euros, the European Defense Agency (EDA) announced, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reports.
Last year, they reached 343 billion euros, which was already a record level compared to 2023, according to the latest data published by the EU's defense agency.
“Europe is spending record amounts on its defense to ensure the security of our citizens and we will not stop there“, said the head of European Union diplomacy Kaia Kallas, who chairs the EDA.
This year, nearly 130 billion euros were allocated for investments, such as new weapons. European countries have significantly increased their military spending since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, and the pace has accelerated further since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
NATO countries, which include 23 EU member states, have also decided to further increase their efforts, devoting at least 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to their security over the next ten years, of which 3.5% to strictly military spending.
To achieve this goal, "efforts will need to be doubled and a total of over 630 billion euros per year will need to be spent" in the EU, said André Denk, the EDA's executive director.