European Leaders Approve Defense Spending Initiatives at Brussels Summit

European leaders at a summit in Brussels approved initiatives to increase defense spending,  Orda.kz reports, citing the BBC Russian Service.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the event. The meeting discussed the "Rearm Europe" plan proposed two days ago.

Against the backdrop of the suspension of US military aid to Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a "new EU funding mechanism" to support member states in rearmament and the possibility of increasing the amount of aid to Ukraine, writes DW.

Following the meeting, European leaders approved a proposal to soften the rules limiting the budget deficit and debt size. The European Commission proposed not to include defense investments in these figures, according to its calculations, which could free up to 600 billion euros.

Also among the approved initiatives is providing loans to the bloc countries of 150 billion euros for defense investments. Proposals for loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and private investors were also approved.

Of the 27 participants in the meeting, Hungarian President Viktor Orban did not support the decision.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova