EU leaders agree to step up defence efforts, but can’t agree on how it should be funded

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk (L), President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (R) and European Council President Antonio Costa (C) leave after holding a press conference during an informal European Union (EU) leaders’ retreat, at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels on February 3, 2025. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)

(From left) Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Council president Antonio Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen leaving a press conference during an informal EU leaders’ retreat in Brussels on Feb 3.

PHOTO: AFP

Jonathan Eyal

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BRUSSELS – European Union (EU) leaders concluded

their first-ever summit devoted exclusively to defence

on Feb 3 with a pledge to spend more on their military in the face of multiple threats, including Russia’s war on Ukraine, which will mark its third year on Feb 24.

The summit, which – in a further break with precedent – also included British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose country left the EU in 2020, ended on a positive note.

EU leaders agree to step up defence efforts, but can’t agree on how it should be funded

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