EU proposes big increase in military spending

$5.8B plan would help countries acquire hardware.

European Union officials announced plans Wednesday for a big increase in military spending, pledging to take greater responsibilit y for their security at a time when the United States appears to be taking a step back in its role in the world.

The bloc’s top officials proposed spending $5.8 billion a year to help governments acquire hardware, including helicopters and drones, and to develop military technology.

Wary of concerns about consolidation of power in Brussels as member governments are under pressure from populist forces, officials stressed that the plan was in no way a step toward creating an EU army. Member countries would own the hardware that was purchased, and much of the money would go to European companies.

But the proposal, known as the European Defense Action Plan, follows calls by P r e s i d e n t - e l e c t Do n - ald Trump for members of NATO — which includes 22 of the 28 EU members — to devote 2 percent of their gross domestic product to military spending.

“If Europe does not take c a re of i t s own s e c ur i t y, nobody else will do it for us,” said Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU. “A strong, competitive and innovative defense industrial base is what will give us strategic autonomy.”

Total military spending by EU governments was about $210 billion last year, but the union does not currently have a budget for military research or procurement. The plan foresees a pilot phase of $95 million up to 2020 — and $528 million a year after that — for research into technologies like drones and for cybersecurity tools.

A second plank of the plan foresees spending 10 times that amount to help governments develop and buy hardware. But rather than drawing on the shared European Union budget, member states would make individual contributions, and some of the money might come from project-related bonds.

Obama administration officials welcomed the increased spending.

“It is no secret that we’ve been asking them to do this for years,” said one senior official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss alliance relations.

But the official also said it is imperative that Trump reassure allies that his administration’s commitment to collective defense of NATO allies would be solid.

During his presidential campaign, Trump questioned whether the U.S. would automatically defend NATO allies if they were attacked, and s a i d U. S. s uppor t would depend on the willingness of those countries to pay their fair share for military protection. But since then, a number of Republican lawmakers and foreign policy experts — including those in close contact with Trump — have insisted that the American commitment to NATO will remain strong.

EU leaders will discuss the proposal at a summit meeting this month.