Twelve European Union member states have asked Brussels to trigger the “national escape clause” in EU fiscal rules, aiming to raise defence spending without facing budget penalties, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
The clause would allow countries to exceed the usual 3% deficit threshold, granting them room to increase defence budgets by up to 1.5% of GDP annually over four years. The proposal comes amid growing pressure to strengthen Europe's military capabilities.
Countries making the request include Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia. A spokesperson for the Polish EU Council presidency said four more nations plan to apply soon.
The Commission will now review each submission. Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the goal is to support higher defence investment while ensuring fiscal responsibility.
The move reflects a shift in EU priorities as geopolitical risks mount and defence becomes a growing part of national budgets.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar wi...
An Iranian tanker was hit by U.S. forces on Saturday near Iran's key oil export hub, Kharg Island, in the Gulf...
Spanish authorities are preparing a new site in Ceuta to accommodate hundreds of migrants who remain on the str...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
The Iranian Army has again struck at U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for U.S. attacks on southern and western parts of Iran late on Tuesday, which reportedly killed 18 people and injured more than 100 others.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, according to three senior Iranian sources. Washington is escalating pressure in hopes of securing concessions in future negotiations.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Spanish authorities are preparing a new site in Ceuta to accommodate hundreds of migrants who remain on the streets following large-scale arrivals in July, local media reported Saturday.
A Chinese national was pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, authorities said, 10 days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through a Himalayan valley, killing more than 1,300 people and leaving more than 5,600 missing.
At least two people were killed and dozens injured on Friday after an explosion at a military barracks in the Bolivian municipality of Viacha, about 30 km (20 miles) from La Paz, Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said.
The resolution, sponsored by African countries and led by Togo, passed by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions. The United States was the only country to vote against it.
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