The European Commission president said that in the “age of re-contracts” there is a need for increased defense spending.
A European summit on defense and Ukraine is being planned this week amidst tensions at Atlantic relations, according to Reuters.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday presented plans to strengthen the European defence industry and increase military capabilities.
“We are in an era of re-contracts and Europe is ready to significantly increase defensive spending,” von der Reyen said.
She said the plan, called “Rearm Europe,” could mobilize about 800 billion euros ($841.5 billion).
The announcement comes days after President Donald Trump clashed with Ukrainian Volodymir Zelenky school in his oval office after Washington halted all military aid to Ukraine.
Von Der Leyen had proposed a plan to re-contract after appearing from a closed door meeting in Ukraine at Lancaster House in London over the weekend.
Meltz promises to do “anything and necessary” to his defense.
Friedrich Merz, who is expected to become Germany’s next prime minister, has announced a political contract to raise hundreds of billions of euros for extra spending on defense and infrastructure.
“In light of the threat to our freedom and peace on our continent, our rules of defense must be ‘whatever it is’,” he said, the BBC reported.
Mertz, who was the conservatives who won the German election last month, said he and his potential centre coalition partners from the left will be putting new proposals into parliament next week.
He speaks of the urgency needs for German spending in light of “recent decisions by the US government.”
Although Meltz did not elaborate, he has been spoken openly in his criticism of Trump’s treatment of Zelensky.
Earlier this week he said that European leaders must show that “we are in a position to act independently in Europe.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, along with the leaders of Bavaria’s Social Democrats and his conservative sister party, Meltz said Germany “relies on the US to support the commitment of mutual alliances, but we now know that we must significantly expand our resources for the defense of our nation and alliances.”
Merz will “do anything” in English to protect freedom and peace – a reference to Mario Draghi’s vow to save the Euro in 2012, when he was president of the European Central Bank.
At the heart of his proposal is a special 500 million euro (£415 million) fund to repair Germany’s creaking infrastructure, loosening strict budgetary rules that allow investments in defense.