Donohoe: “For defense funding, national choices also matter”

Brussels – What will be will be. It will probably be loosening the rules of the Stability Pact since the idea has already taken shape, and there does not seem to be any closure by national governments. The revitalisation of defence and its industry, however, first goes through the existing tools, starting with national recipes, that is, the choices each country is called upon to make when deciding how to use public money, which is taxpayers’ money. The president of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, wants to put things in order.

To members of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, the Irishman reminds them that “yes, there is an ongoing debate” about the possibility of creating new common debt instruments “with views on the subject.” But, to those who ask for an account of what is happening and even more of what may happen, Donohoe reminds that there are, and he lists them, “at least three ways” to be able to mobilise valuable resources to stimulate investment and money for EU defence and security: “There is our budget and the budget that we will have, the decisions that will be made based on the competitiveness agenda, and there are the decisions made at the national level.”

In the first case, EU member states must choose how to use—possibly shifting them—the resources in the current multi-year budget (MFF 2021–2027). Even more, governments will have to choose how to construct, from the perspective of spending priorities, the next seven accounting years (MFF 2028–2034). In the second case, it is important to define what to make of that simplification that the Commission says is worth €37.5 billion a year to small and medium-sized enterprises alone. Finally, the actual national economic and spending policy: This is where a good part of the future of the defence and security of the Europe of States will be played out. This means that politics will have to choose where to invest less and thus cut back to favour heavy industry. On this, Donohoe cannot answer. MEPs will have to address individual capitals.