The European Union will propose extending €150 billion ($158 billion) in loans to boost defense spending as the bloc tries to adjust to U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s abrupt pullback of American security on the continent.
After decades of underinvestment, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU also plans to activate a mechanism that would allow countries to use their national budgets to spend an additional €650 billion on defense over four years without triggering budgetary penalties.
Combined with the new defense spending loans, von der Leyen said the package could mobilize nearly €800 billion ¡ª if governments take full advantage of the new leeway.
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