Irish minister joins echoes calls for EU prioritisation of defence spending

Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe emphasized that EU member states should prioritize increasing defence spending at the national level before considering broader measures.  

“Our first port of call should be what we can do on a national level while maintaining financial stability and maintaining the integrity of the budget rules,” Caliber.Az reports, citing Donohoe's interview on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting in Cape Town, who noted that this approach would yield the quickest results. 

The EU is exploring ways to strengthen its defence industry after years of underfunding. Growing concerns over Russian aggression in the east, combined with President Donald Trump’s warnings about reducing US security commitments in Europe, have prompted a push to boost defence budgets across the continent.  

Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz has initiated discussions on approving up to 200 billion euros ($210 billion) in special defence spending.  

“In Ireland for example, we’ve now been significantly increasing our expenditure in defense and security,” Donohoe said during a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers. “We are a neutral country but we know we need to invest in our own security and we are planning to further increase that spending in the years ahead.” 

EU leaders are set to hold their first discussion on a bloc-wide defence package on March 6. Among the topics on the agenda is a proposal for the European Commission, the bloc’s executive body, to ease fiscal rules to enable greater national investment in security.

By Nazrin Sadigova