EU defence spending to hit record 380b euros in 2025

BRUSSELS, Sept 02 (AFP): EU military spending is set to hit a fresh record of 381 billion euros in 2025, as countries plough more money into warding off Russia, the bloc's defence agency said Tuesday.

The 10-percent rise comes as European members of NATO have committed to massively ramp up spending under pressure from US President Donald Trump.

"Europe is spending record amounts on defence to keep our people safe, and we will not stop there," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) said that of the money being spent this year, close to 130 billion euros was being spent on investments such as new weaponry.

European countries have stepped up spending sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

A 150-billion-euro EU loan scheme intended to help countries ramp up defence spending has been fully subscribed, the European Commission said last week, with 19 of 27 member states applying for funds.

The SAFE plan enables member states to get cheaper loans backed by the EU's central budget.