Reference News Network, September 3 report. According to the U.S. "Defense News" weekly website, September 2 report, a new report from the European Defense Agency shows that the total defense spending of the EU last year reached over 343 billion euros (402 billion U.S. dollars), setting a new record. The agency said it is expected that defense spending will further increase to 381 billion euros in 2025.

The total defense spending of the EU in 2024 was more than three times Russia's military budget. Only the United States has higher military spending than the EU. This figure accounts for 1.9% of the eurozone's gross domestic product (GDP), an increase of 19% from the previous year.

The high level of defense spending is mainly driven by countries purchasing new equipment and the growth of research and development funding among the 27 EU member states. In the words of the EU, these two investments together are called "defense investment," rather than money spent on troop salaries or facility maintenance.

Investment accounted for 31% of total defense spending, that is, 106 billion euros, of which 13 billion euros were used for research and development. According to calculations by the European Defense Agency, procurement of equipment increased by 39% year-on-year; at the same time, R&D expenditure increased by 20%.

The record-breaking spending was driven by the growing budget across the entire EU. Except for two countries, all countries increased their defense budgets in 2024. Among the 25 countries that increased defense spending in 2025, 16 countries had defense spending that increased by more than 10% in 2024 compared to 2023, including Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. In 2024, only Portugal and Ireland saw a decrease in defense budgets.

Since 2014, military spending in Europe has been growing exponentially. At that time, the EU's defense spending reached the lowest level since data collection began in 2005, adjusted for inflation, 189 billion euros.

Although EU defense spending has already been rising, the full-scale attack by Russia on Ukraine since February 2022 has intensified this trend.

In fact, the growth rate of defense spending last year even exceeded the expectations of the European Defense Agency, exceeding the agency's forecast at the end of 2023 by 17 billion euros.

Many EU countries with large defense expenditures are near Russia. Poland leads the list, with defense spending approaching 4% of GDP last year; followed closely by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, whose defense spending far exceeds 3% of GDP.

The report said that the EU has played an increasingly active role in coordinating cross-border projects and mobilizing military funds, which were previously reserved for civilian purposes. For a long time, many EU countries have carefully protected their own defense, considering it a national privilege, but due to the "threat" of Russia and the increasingly cold U.S., many countries have recently softened their stance, and the promise of cheap funds from Brussels has also played a catalytic role.

The 2025 edition of the annual report particularly emphasizes comparing European military capabilities with those of the United States, including comparing the number of main battle tanks and fighter jets each side possesses, as well as the effectiveness of R&D investment. Data show that the EU air force lags behind the United States in the number of fighter jets, but far exceeds the United States in infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks.

The European Defense Agency concluded that Europe's advantage lies in cross-border cooperation, and emphasized the need for coordination in procurement, interoperability and joint R&D in its report.

"European defense spending has reached record levels to ensure the safety of our people, and we will not stop here," said High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas. "Defense today is not a luxury, but the foundation for protecting our citizens. It must be the era of European defense now." (Translated by Zhang Ping)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7545700251856912915/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the 【top/down】 button below.