HELSINKI — Eight EU countries on the front line with Russia demanded Tuesday that Brussels accelerate its upcoming counter-drone and border defense initiatives amid ongoing opposition to the projects by some European capitals. Their call for “immediate prioritization” of two projects proposed by Brussels as part of its plans to make the bloc war-ready by 2030 comes ahead of a crucial summit of the EU’s 27 countries on Thursday that could determine their fate. “Russia remains a threat to Europe today, tomorrow and in the near future,” said Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who convened Tuesday’s gathering. “The build-up of European defence will not happen or continue unless we, as states on the EU’s eastern border, make our voices heard.” The two so-called flagship projects, dubbed the Eastern Flank Watch and European Drone Defence Initiative, were first floated by the European Commission in October as part of its “roadmap” to make the EU ready for war with Russia by the end of the decade. Referencing the projects and the bloc’s broader defense plans, Orpo said he was “confident that we will continue this discussion at the upcoming European Council later this week.” But an official from the French Elysée told reporters Tuesday that “discussions on flagship defense projects are not planned” at Thursday’s meeting. Instead, the official added, countries are “organizing ourselves intergovernmentally and through the NATO process.” The initiatives need endorsement from EU leaders before they can be launched early next year. Alongside France, the projects also previously received a lukewarm reception from countries like Germany and Hungary, who see the plans as a potential power grab by Brussels. EU leaders failed to endorse the initiatives at the last summit in October, and so far, have not indicated they would shift their stance, according to draft summit conclusions seen by POLITICO and dated Dec. 16. There was more consensus among the countries attending Tuesday’s summit — Finland, Sweden, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria — who also agreed the flagship projects should ideally fund ground combat capabilities, drone air and drone defense, border protection efforts and easing military mobility across the bloc. “This is one of the most solid and responsible political formats,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters after the summit. “We have very challenging neighborhood countries and we understand each other really, really perfectly … It means that it’s pretty easy for all of us to cooperate.” FROZEN OUT That display of unity was somewhat overshadowed by one anomaly in the group. Last week, Bulgaria signed a letter, alongside Malta and Italy, voicing its opposition to the EU’s plan to unblock a €210 billion loan for Ukraine drawing on Russia’s frozen assets — a proposal that’s likely to be determined at the meeting of the bloc’s 27 countries on Thursday. In the closed-door meeting of the frontline leaders on Tuesday, Bulgaria’s outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov remained silent as his counterparts expressed their support for the frozen assets plan, according to a person inside the room, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. But others played down that division. “I’m not frustrated because Bulgaria internally has been in a very difficult situation politically,” Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said in an interview, referencing the fact Zhelyazkov resigned last week amid mass protests against his government. “It’s good that actually the prime minister came today and showed his unity because it’s important that we can work together,” she told POLITICO. Gabriel Gavin contributed to this report from Brussels.

EU countries are taking a harder look at who builds, owns and works on key infrastructure like ports, IT and rail — and that concern is now spilling into a wave of legislation aimed at countries like China. Sweden is the latest to move, proposing this week to give local authorities new powers to block “hostile states” from bidding on infrastructure if their involvement could threaten national security. “It’s part of a defense issue,” a Swedish official told POLITICO, describing growing worries about countries like China gaining access to public infrastructure. “We are acting very quickly on that, since we see a risk that hostile states might try to infiltrate infrastructure such as ports, but also IT solutions and energy infrastructure.” It’s also a worry in Poland, Austria and inside EU institutions — all of which are rushing to put in safeguards to block, or at least monitor, third-country investment in key tech and transport infrastructure. What accelerated Sweden’s move was a recent EU court ruling involving Turkish and Chinese companies bidding on two railway projects. Judges concluded that suppliers from countries without a free-trade agreement with the EU do not enjoy the same rights as EU firms — a reading Stockholm took as both a green light and a warning signal. Sweden’s new rules are due to take effect in 2027. No specific cases were cited, but the investigation repeatedly pointed to China — which also sits at the center of very similar concerns in Poland. Warsaw has long been uneasy about the scale of Chinese involvement in its ports. A new draft bill put forward by the country’s president would “adapt the existing regulations concerning the operation of ports, and in particular the ownership of real estate located within the boundaries of ports.” The president argued that the current model — state-owned port authorities holding land and infrastructure and leasing it long-term to terminal operators — needs tightening if the country wants to maintain control over assets of “fundamental importance to the national economy.” Gen. Dariusz Łuczak, former head of Poland’s Internal Security Agency and now adviser to the Special Services Commission, told Polish media late last month that “the most important provisions are those concerning the early termination of perpetual use agreements.” However, it’s unclear if the legislation will pass as President Karol Nawrocki is broadly opposed to the government led by Prime Minster Donald Tusk. The EU is also moving. Ana Miguel Pedro, a Portuguese member of the European Parliament with the center-right European People’s Party, told POLITICO in the spring that the growing presence of Chinese state-owned companies in European port terminals “is not just an economic concern, but a strategic vulnerability.” Those concerns appear in the bloc’s new military mobility package, which calls for member countries to put in place “stricter rules on the ownership and control of strategic dual use infrastructure.” Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas also flagged the Chinese presence in ports and said it will feature in the European Commission’s upcoming ports strategy, due in 2026. Austria has also been pushed into the debate after long-distance trains built by Chinese state-owned manufacturer CRRC rolled onto the Vienna-Salzburg line for the first time — triggering a political backlash. The country’s Mobility Minister Peter Hanke said the EU must tighten procurement and digital-security rules for state-backed rail purchases — and Vienna plans to propose new legislation before the end of the year. The Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Industry is pushing Brussels to go even further. The European Rail Supply Industry Association argued that the bloc’s procurement rules are relics of an earlier era and asked the Commission to update them so companies from countries that shut out EU bidders cannot freely compete for European contracts. Sweden’s investigators saw the same risks. “Third-country suppliers without an agreement should not be given a more advantageous position than they have today and than other suppliers have,” Anneli Berglund Creutz, who led the Swedish government’s procurement review, told reporters. Contracting authorities, she added, should have the ability “to take into account the nationality of suppliers and to select suppliers from hostile states” — possibly excluding them “when that protects national security.”

BRUSSELS — Heard the one about the 12-and-half-hour meeting of 27 national leaders that succeeded in agreeing very little apart from coming up with quite a lot of “let’s decide in a couple of months” or “let’s just all agree on language that means absolutely nothing but looks like we’re united” or “let’s at least celebrate that we got through this packed agenda without having to come back on Friday”? No? Well let us enlighten you. And if that makes you question how we’ve managed to squeeze 29 things out of this, well let’s just say one of these is about badly functioning vending machines… 1 . STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX WITH A QUICK WIN ON SANCTIONS … The day was off to a flying start when Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico lifted his veto over the latest raft of Russia sanctions on the eve of the summit — allowing the package to get formally signed off at 8 a.m. before leaders even started talking. Fico rolled over after claiming to achieve what he set out to do: clinch support for Slovakia’s car industry. He found an unusual ally in German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who he met separately to discuss the impact of climate targets on their countries’ automotive sectors. 2. … BUT AGREEMENT ON FROZEN RUSSIAN ASSETS WAS LESS FORTHCOMING There was a moment earlier in the week where the EU looked to be on the cusp of a breakthrough on using Russian frozen assets to fund a €140 billion loan for Ukraine. Belgium, the main holdout, appeared to be warming to the European Commission’s daring idea to crack open the piggy bank. But Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever stuck by his guns , saying he feared taking the assets, which are held in a Brussels-based financial depository, could trigger Moscow to take legal action. 3. BELGIUM DIDN’T MOVE ON ITS BIG THREE BIG DEMANDS The Flemish right-winger’s prerequisites were threefold: the “full mutualization of the risk,” guarantees that if the money has to paid back, “every member state will chip in,” and for every other EU country that holds immobilized assets to also seize them. Leaders eventually agreed on that classic EU summit outcome: a fudge. They tasked the European Commission to “present options” at the next European Council — effectively deciding not to decide. “Political will is clear, and the process will move forward,” said one EU official. But it’s uncertain whether a deal can be brokered by the next summit, currently set for December. 4. DE WEVER REJECTS THE ‘BAD BOY’ LABEL After POLITICO ranked the Belgian leader among its list of “bad boys” likely to disrupt Thursday’s summit (rightfully, might we add), he protested the branding. “A bad boy! Me? … If you talk about the immobilized assets, we’re the very, very best,” he said. The day was off to a flying start when Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico lifted his veto over the latest raft of Russia sanctions on the eve of the summit. | Olivier Hoslet/EPA 5. URSULA VON DER LEYEN ALSO CONCEDED THEY’RE NOT QUITE THERE YET The high-level talks “allowed us to identify points we need to clarify,” the Commission president said tactfully. “Nobody vetoed nothing today,” European Council President António Costa chimed in. “The technical and legal aspects of Europe’s support need to be worked upon.” Translation in case you didn’t understand the double negative: The EU needs to come up with a better plan to reassure Belgium — and fast. 6. UKRAINE: EVER THE OPTIMIST Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ― a guest of the summit ― told reporters Russia must pay the price for its invasion, calling on the EU to follow through with its frozen assets proposal, adding he thought the leaders were “close” to an agreement. “If Russia brought war to our land, they have to pay for this war,” he said. 7. AND ZELENSKYY IS STILL HOLDING OUT FOR TOMAHAWKS “We will see,” was Zelenskyy’s message on the topic of acquiring the long-range missiles from the U.S., which Donald Trump has so far ruled out selling to Kyiv. “Each day brings something … maybe tomorrow we will have Tomahawks,” Zelenskyy said. “I don’t know.” 8. UKRAINE WANTS GERMANY TO SEND MORE WEAPONS TOO Merz held a meeting with Zelenskyy about “the situation in Washington and the American plans that are now on the table,” a German official said, adding Zelenskyy made “specific requests” to the chancellor about helping Ukraine with its “defense capabilities.” After the summit, the German leader said Berlin would review a proposal on how German technologies could help to protect Ukrainian’s energy and water infrastructure. 9. THUMBS UP TO DEFENSE ROADMAP! EU leaders endorsed the Defense Readiness Roadmap 2030 presented last week by the Commission, which aims to prepare member countries for war by 2030. One of its main objectives is to fill EU capability gaps in nine areas: air and missile defense, enablers, military mobility, artillery systems, AI and cyber, missile and ammunition, drones and anti-drones, ground combat, and maritime. The plan also mentions areas like defense readiness and the role of Ukraine, which would be heavily armed and supported to become a “steel porcupine” able to deter Russian aggression. As leaders deliberated, a Russian fighter jet and a refueling aircraft briefly crossed into Lithuanian airspace from the Kaliningrad region, underscoring the need for the EU to protect its skies. 10. KYIV IS PROMISING TO BUY EUROPEAN — MOSTLY Ukraine will prioritize domestic and European industry when spending cash from the proposed reparation loan funded by Russia’s frozen assets, Zelenskyy told leaders at the summit — but wants to be able to go across the pond when necessary. 11. MUCH THE SAME FOR SPAIN Spanish leader Pedro Sánchez said the country had committed to contributing cash to a fund organized by NATO to buy weapons for Ukraine from the U.S. | Nicolas Tucat/Getty Images Spanish leader Pedro Sánchez said the country had committed to contributing cash to a fund organized by NATO to buy weapons for Ukraine from the U.S. “Today, most of the air defense components, such as Patriots or Tomahawks … which Ukraine clearly needs, are only manufactured in the United States,” he said. Madrid has been a thorn in Washington’s side over its lax defense spending. 12. THERE WAS A MERCOSUR SURPRISE Merz stunned trade watchers when he announced the leaders had backed a controversial trade agreement with Latin American countries. “We voted on it today: The Mercosur agreement can be ratified,” the German chancellor told reporters, adding that he was “very happy” about that. “All 27 countries voted unanimously in favor,” Merz added on Mercosur. “It’s done.” The remark sparked confusion amongst delegations, as the European Council doesn’t usually vote on trade agreements — let alone one as controversial as the mammoth agreement with the countries of the Latin American bloc of Mercosur, which has been in negotiations for over 25 years. One EU diplomat clarified that it’s because European Council President António Costa sought confirmation from EU leaders that they would agree to take a stance on the deal by the end of this year — and no formal vote was taken yet. 13. CLIMATE TALKS PASSED WITHOUT A HITCH One of the hotter potatoes ahead of the summit passed surprisingly smoothly. Leaders ultimately refrained from bulldozing the EU’s climate targets, agreeing to a vaguely worded commitment to a green transition, though without committing to a 2040 goal, which proposes cutting emissions by 90 percent compared to 1990 levels. In the words of one diplomat: “Classic balance, everyone equally unhappy.” 14. AT LEAST ONE LEADER SEEMED PLEASED, THOUGH Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the summit a “turning point” in Europe’s approach to green policy, adding he succeeded in inserting a “revision clause” into the EU’s plan to extend its carbon-trading system to heating and transport emissions that will give member countries the option to delay or adjust the rollout. “We’ve defused a threat to Polish families and drivers,” he declared, calling the change a signal that “Europe is finally speaking our language.” 15. BUT THE ISSUE WON’T STAY BURIED FOR LONG Ministers are set to reconvene and cast a vote on the 2040 goal on Nov. 4, described by one diplomat as “groundhog day.” 16. MEANWHILE, THERE WAS NOTHING ON MIGRATION … Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the summit a “turning point” in Europe’s approach to green policy. | Thierry Monasse/Getty Images Aside from promising to make migration a “priority,” the EU’s leaders failed to make any kind of breakthrough on a stalled proposal for burden-sharing. Reminder: The EU missed a deadline last week to agree on a new way of deciding which member countries are under stress from receiving migrants and ways of sharing the responsibility more equally across the bloc. 17. … BUT THE ANTI-MIGRANT BREAKFAST CLUB LIVES ON Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen and the Netherlands’ Dick Schoof have kept up their informal pre-summit “migration breakfasts” since last June, swapping innovative ideas on tougher border and asylum policies. They met again on Thursday with von der Leyen, who updated them on the EU’s latest plans for accelerating migrant returns, and the trio agreed an informal summit will take place next month in Rome. 18. NOR DID THE EU’S SOCIAL MEDIA BAN GET MUCH OF A LOOK IN As expected, the leaders endorsed a “possible” minimum age for kids to use social media, but failed to commit to a bloc-wide ban, with capitals divided on whether to make the age 15 or 16, as well as on the issue of parental consent. 19. THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF WAITING FOR NEWS… Journalists were frantically pressing their sources in the Council and national delegations to find out what was happening at the leaders’ table as the meeting dragged into the late hours. It eventually finished at 10.30 p.m. ― 12 and a half hours after it began. 20. … AND THE GREENS SEIZED THEIR MOMENT The EU Parliament’s Greens group co-chair Bas Eickhout wandered the hallways of the Justus Lipsius building ready to brief bored journalists about the wonders of the Green Deal — while leaders debated how to unravel it in the other room. 21. THE COMBUSTION ENGINE BAN FELL FLAT One of the pillars of the EU’s green transition, its 2035 de facto combustion engine ban, was set to play a major role in the competitiveness and climate discussions, with Merz and Fico spoiling for a fight over the proposal — yet it barely registered as a footnote. Slovakia used the climate talks to oppose the ban, and the Czech Republic chimed in to agree, but in the end the summit’s official conclusions welcomed the Commission’s proposed ban without mentioning how it should be watered down. 22. THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL’S VENDING MACHINES AREN’T VERY, ER, COMPETITIVE Officials and journalists alike found that the vending machines in the EU’s Justus Lipsius building, which incidentally is due for a €1 billion renovation, about as efficient as a roundtable of 27 national leaders lasting 12 and a half hours. 23. THE BLOC IS WORRIED ABOUT CHINA… Beijing’s export controls on rare earths came up in the talks on competitiveness, according to two EU officials, with some leaders expressing their concerns. 24. … BUT THEY’RE NOT READY TO GO NUCLEAR — YET One of the officials said the EU’s most powerful trade weapon, the Anti-Coercion Instrument, was mentioned, but didn’t garner much interest around the table. 25. HOUSING GETS 40 MINUTES — NOT BAD FOR A FIRST RUN Leaders spent a chunk of time discussing the continent’s housing crisis. A solid start for the topic, which made it onto the agenda for the first time at Costa’s behest. The EU executive “is ready to help,” von der Leyen said after the summit, announcing a European Affordable Housing Plan is in the pipeline and the first EU Housing Summit in 2026. | Dursun Aydemir/Getty Images During talks, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on the Commission to create a database tracking which housing policies work — and which don’t — across Europe. Most leaders agreed that, while housing remains a national competence, the EU still has a role to play. 26. AND THE COMMISSION WANTS TO ROLL UP ITS SLEEVES The EU executive “is ready to help,” von der Leyen said after the summit, announcing a European Affordable Housing Plan is in the pipeline and the first EU Housing Summit in 2026. 27. LEADERS ENJOYED A FEAST OR TWO For lunch, langoustine with yuzu, celeriac and apple, fillet of veal with artichokes and crispy polenta, and a selection of fresh fruit. For dinner, cannelloni with herbs, courgette velouté, fillet of brill with chorizo and pepper, and fig meringue cake. Yum. 28. THOUGH A FEW COULDN’T MAKE IT Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the most notable absence, rocking up several hours late due to a national holiday in Budapest. Portugal and Slovenia’s leaders were also absent at one point. 29. AND COSTA KEPT HIS PROMISE … JUST The European Council president pledged to streamline summits under his watch, making them one-day affairs instead of two. And with just a couple hours to spare, he was successful. Okay, breathe. Did we miss anything? (Don’t answer that.) Gerardo Fortuna, Max Griera Andrieu, Jordyn Dahl, Gabriel Gavin, Hanne Cokelaere, Clea Caulcutt, Hans von der Burchard, Kathryn Carlson, Tim Ross, Jacopo Barigazzi, Gregorio Sorgi, Eliza Gkritsi, Carlo Martuscelli, Nicholas Vinocur, Saga Ringmar, Sarah Wheaton, Louise Guillot, Zia Weise, Camille Gijs, Bartosz Brzezinski and Giedre Peseckyte contributed to this report.

Senior officials inside NATO and the Spanish government are not too concerned with President Donald Trump’s threats to punish the country for its perceived inadequate spending on defense. “The threat is not being taken seriously at the military level,” said a senior NATO officer at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Brussels. “Spaniards are reacting calmly.” The officer was granted anonymity to discuss internal thinking. The relative shrug comes as Trump’s rhetoric has grown increasingly hostile in recent weeks, criticizing Spain over its low spending amid the administration’s push to make European countries less reliant on the United States’ military umbrella. “You’re going to have to talk to Spain,” Trump told NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday. “Spain is not a team player.” Trump has pushed NATO members to spend at least 5 percent of their GDP on national defense. At a NATO summit in The Hague in June, most members agreed to a spending target of 5 percent of GDP — 3.5 percent on core military expenditure and 1.5 percent in defense-related areas such as military mobility by 2035. But not Spain, which asked for a carveout. Madrid has the lowest military spending of any NATO member country, allocating just 1.3 percent of its GDP to defense in 2024. And its refusal to commit to more has irked Trump, who this month said NATO should consider throwing Spain out of the alliance. The president’s anger further strains an already complex transatlantic relationship in which he has upended trade relationships, imposed new tariffs and lectured leaders on migration and climate change. European leaders, meanwhile, have worked hard to maintain a positive relationship with Trump as they hope to influence him on a range of issues, especially the war in Ukraine. Trump also suggested he’d impose new tariffs Spain, which is a member of the European Union. It’s not clear how Spain could be singled out but, for now, the Spanish don’t seem too concerned. What matters—and we should say it with pride—is that Spain is a reliable and responsible ally, that it has been in the Atlantic Alliance for 40 years, that it has paid a very high price with the lives of Spanish service members, that it is willing to take part in every mission assigned to it, and that it is making a very important effort in the Spanish and European defense industry, creating jobs and honoring commitments,” said Margarita Robles, Spain’s defense minister told reporters last week. “So, even if some do not acknowledge it, Spain is a country that delivers, and an ally respected by the other members of the Alliance.” Robles added that 2035 is a long way off and the alliance’s priority should be what is happening in Ukraine. But Trump remains focused on Spain’s refusal and is still “considering economic consequences,” said Anna Kelly, spokesperson for the White House. “President Trump always means what he says, and his actions speak for themselves,” she said. “While every other NATO ally agreed to increase its defense spending to five percent, Spain was the only country that refused.”

BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Thursday unveiled its Defense Readiness Roadmap to prepare the bloc to “credibly deter its adversaries and respond to any aggression” by 2030.  According to the document, within five years the EU must be able to respond to the “evolving threat landscape” it faces, particularly from Russia, which “poses a persistent threat to European security for the foreseeable future.” “The recent threats have shown that Europe is at risk. We have to protect every citizen and square centimeter of our territory,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Commission outlined four flagship projects in the roadmap, as well as boosting the bloc’s military industrial complex while continuing to support Ukraine, which is considered an “integral part of Europe’s defense and security architecture.” Von der Leyen will present the roadmap to EU leaders at their Oct. 23 summit. The four key defense efforts in the roadmap are: the European Drone Defense Initiative; the Eastern Flank Watch; the European Air Shield; and the European Space Shield. The idea is for the Commission to help members coordinate on projects that are too large for a single country to do on its own, while being mindful of the need to preserve national sovereignty over defense. Each flagship project, with a timeline outlined in the paper, will be led by a member state, supported by the Commission, and will address capability gaps without creating an operational structure.  “The roadmap has clear objectives and deadlines for how we will achieve them. It’s up to the member states; they are in the driver’s seat. But it helps them fill the gaps and fulfill the tasks set by NATO,” said Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s top diplomat. The Commission said the flagship programs are driven by requests from the member states. “Frontline countries feel the sense of urgency and want to prepare after we saw the drone incursions in Europe,” said a Commission official prior to presenting the plans, referring to recent overflights of EU territory by Russian drones.  “This clearly shows that Europe needs a 360-degree approach to rapidly closing capability gaps in this area. Ukraine is ready to support member states in organizing this,” the official added. The Commission is in close dialogue with NATO to coordinate further steps, and more flagship projects are anticipated.  “Two more initiatives will be announced later this year: a Military Mobility Package and a Technological Transformation of the Defence Industry,” said Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen. Kallas said the first coordinating meetings of the four groups started this week. “The first meeting of the drones coalition took place with the Netherlands and Latvia in the lead,” she said.  German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius earlier Thursday announced that Germany intends to take the lead in the European Air Shield. A Commission official said groups of at least 10 countries are aligned for each of the four efforts. The European Defence Agency is also playing a central role by providing meeting spaces for the groups and advising on projects. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Bulgaria’s largest state-owned arms producer on Sunday drew protests from nationalist parties, laying bare domestic tensions over the country’s burgeoning role as a hub for arms production. The Commission chief was set to accompany Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to the country’s largest state military enterprise, VMZ Sopot, to discuss issues related to European security and to tour the plant’s facilities. But protesters from the far-right Revival party and the nationalist Velichie party gathered outside the plant’s entrance to demonstrate their antipathy to the EU visit. Kostadin Kostadinov, the leader of Revival who has previously spoken of Bulgaria’s withdrawal from NATO, was filmed blocking a civilian car from entering the plant, according to a report by Mediapool. The visit to Bulgaria’s state-owned arms manufacturer comes on the heels of an announcement by Germany’s defense company Rheinmetall that it would build two new factories in the Balkan nation, including expanding facilities at Sopot, to establish Bulgaria as Europe’s largest gunpowder manufacturer. During the Cold War, Bulgaria emerged as one of the Warsaw Pact’s major arms producers, specializing in small arms, ammunition and light armored vehicles. But the collapse of the Soviet Union sent the sector into steep decline, shuttering many state-owned factories. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has since breathed new life into Bulgaria’s defense industry, turning the country into a crucial supplier of Soviet-standard ammunition for Kyiv — and reviving once-idle plants and regions. “The propaganda that the government is currently trying to put forward that there is about to be some sort of economic boom is completely untrue,” Kostadinov told reporters. “Will this plant be beneficial to us? We know gunpowder production is dangerous and dirty work. Why does Bulgaria not invest in military mobility or military electronics? Instead our country is for dangerous material,” he said. Meanwhile, supporters of Velichie brandished axes in a livestream broadcast stating that they were “the bouquet that von der Leyen deserved.” The protests come on the back of a strong national anti-euro demonstrations. Von der Leyen is on a seven-country tour of the so-called front-line states to reassure them of the EU’s support against Russian aggression. In addition to Bulgaria, which borders the Black Sea, the Commission chief has visited Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland — all of which share a border with Russia or Belarus. On Monday, she will travel to Romania and Lithuania. Her trip coincides with increased efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to broker a ceasefire in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

Faced with a daunting new NATO spending target, Italian politicians are proposing that a long-discussed €13.5 billion bridge to Sicily should be defined as military expenditure. Rome is one of NATO’s lowest military spenders — only targeting 1.49 percent of gross domestic product on its military last year. That makes the new goal of 5 percent by 2035 seem out of reach. And that’s where the bridge could help. The government of Giorgia Meloni is keen to advance with the pharaonic scheme to span the Strait of Messina with what would be world’s longest suspension bridge — a project that has been the dream of the Romans, dictator Benito Mussolini and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Both Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini, Meloni’s deputy prime ministers, are playing up the notion that the bridge has a strategic value to NATO rather than a purely economic role — a point that was also stressed in a government report in April. A government official stressed no formal decision had been made on the classification of the bridge as a security project, but said further talks would likely be held soon to “see how feasible this feels.” The idea could be politically useful for Meloni as she struggles to convince a war-wary public of the need for major defense outlays at a time when Italy is already inching toward austerity. There are some clear grounds on which Italy might be able to build a case for the bridge. Of the 5 percent of GDP NATO target, only 3.5 percent needs to be core defense spending, while 1.5 percent can be steered to broader strategic resilience such as infrastructure. An Italian Treasury official also suggested that branding the bridge as a military project would help the government overcome some of the economic and technical barriers that have stopped it being built in the past. For decades, efforts to build the bridge — with a estimated central span of 3.3 kilometers — have repeatedly run into problems of costs, the difficulties of operating in a seismic zone and the challenge of displacing people. The new designation would “override bureaucratic obstacles, litigation with local authorities that could challenge the government in court claiming that the bridge will damage disproportionately their land,” the Treasury official said. It would also “facilitate raising money, especially in the next year, for the bridge.” IMPERATIVE OR RIDICULOUS? In April, the Italian government adopted a document declaring the bridge should be built for “imperative reasons of overriding public interest.” In addition to its civilian use, “the bridge over the Strait of Messina also has strategic importance for national and international security, so much so that it will play a key role in defense and security, facilitating the movement of Italian armed forces and NATO allies,” the document added. Whether NATO — and more importantly U.S. President Donald Trump, who loves a big building project — will buy into that logic is another matter. | Remko de Waal/EPA Italy also requested that the project should be included in the EU’s financing plan for the mobility of military personnel, materiel and assets, as it “would fit perfectly into this strategy, providing key infrastructure for the transfer of NATO forces from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean,” the government report said. The bridge “represents an advantage for military mobility, enabling the rapid transport of heavy vehicles, troops, and resources both by road and rail,” the government added. Whether NATO — and more importantly U.S. President Donald Trump, who loves a big building project — will buy into that logic is another matter. Officially, the Strait of Messina lies outside Italy’s only designated NATO military mobility corridor — which begins at ports in the Puglia region on the heel of the Italian boot, crosses the Adriatic to Albania, and continues on to North Macedonia and Bulgaria. It is also unclear whether the strait features in the EU’s own military mobility network, whose corridors, according to people familiar with the discussions, are expected to align with NATO’s routes. The Americans aren’t showing their hand for now. When asked about the bridge at the NATO summit in The Hague in late June, U.S. aides chuckled, but offered no immediate response. BERLUSCONI BRIDGE Foreign Minister Tajani is a vocal advocate of the bridge. “We will make Italians understand that security is a broader concept than just tanks,” he said in a recent interview with business daily Milano Finanza. “To achieve this, we will focus on infrastructure that also has civilian uses, such as the bridge over the Strait [of Messina], which falls within the concept of defense given that Sicily is a NATO platform,” he added.  Infrastructure Minister Salvini, Meloni’s other deputy, sees the bridge as something that could transform his far-right League party — originally the secessionist Northern League — into a successful nationwide political movement that also commits to a big project in the south. “Of course,” he recently responded when asked by a reporter whether the bridge could help Italy reach its new NATO goal.“Infrastructure is also strategic from a security perspective in many ways, so if we invest more in security, some strategic infrastructure will also become part of this security plan.” Salvini has been pressing for the process to speed up, according to the Treasury official and a lawmaker familiar with internal government dynamics. “Matteo is pushing a lot to obtain some form of ‘approval’ of the project at technical and political level in order to show to the public opinion that something is moving,” the Treasury official said. Opposition parties disagree with both the need to build the bridge and its classification as military spending. Foreign Minister Tajani is a vocal advocate of the bridge. | Oliver Hoslet/EPA “This is a mockery of the citizens and of the commitments made at NATO. I doubt that this bluff by the government will be accepted,” said Giuseppe Antoci, a member of the European Parliament from the left-populist 5Star Movement. “The government should stop and avoid making an international fool of itself, which would cover Italy in ridicule,” he added. Another argument against the project is that it would connect two of Italy’s poorest regions, neither of which has an efficient transport system. Many believe that investing in local streets and railways is more urgent. “The population of Sicily and Calabria suffers from inadequate water infrastructure, snail-paced transport, potholed roads, and third-world hospitals. The bridge over the strait, therefore, cannot be a priority,” Antoci said. But the governing coalition is determined to move forward. On Tuesday, Salvini said the project’s final authorization is expected in July. In a somewhat inauspicious sign, Tajani has proposed naming the bridge after Berlusconi, a prime minister famed for his bunga bunga parties and interminable legal battles.

BERLIN — Germany is set to increase its military budget to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2029, government officials in Berlin told POLITICO on Monday. The pledge comes just 24 hours before NATO leaders gather in The Hague, where tensions are expected to run high as U.S. President Donald Trump presses allies to dramatically scale up their defense commitments.  For 2025, Berlin has allocated €86 billion to defense, equal to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product, officials said. By 2029, annual defense expenditures are expected to reach €153 billion, or 3.5 percent of GDP — marking the country’s most ambitious rearmament effort since reunification. To finance the ramp-up, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government has suspended the constitutionally enshrined “debt brake,” clearing the way for defense spending above 1 percent of GDP to be debt-financed.  Brussels has also been looped in. Germany has formally requested flexibility under the EU’s Growth and Stability Pact, seeking permission to classify the surge in defense investment as exceptional spending. A €100 billion special fund for the German Armed Forces — announced in 2022 after the start of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine — is expected to be fully depleted by 2027, making the structural increase in the core budget all the more significant. Meanwhile, Merz has signaled a willingness to spend up to 1.5 percent of GDP on “defense-adjacent infrastructure,” including transport corridors and strategic mobility projects, coinciding with NATO’s wider agreement to split the 5 percent target sought by Trump to 3.5 percent for hard defense spending and 1.5 percent for other expenditures related to defense. His Cabinet is expected to greenlight the expanded defense budget on Tuesday, followed by a formal address to the Bundestag on Wednesday — just ahead of his departure for the NATO summit. The package also includes a robust aid commitment to “states attacked in violation of international law,” above all for Ukraine, with €8.3 billion earmarked for 2025 — double the level planned by the previous Scholz administration. That figure will climb to €8.5 billion annually from 2026 onward, officials said.

Spain wants a carve-out from NATO’s likely future defense spending goal of 5 percent of GDP, the country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said ahead of next week’s high-stakes alliance summit in The Hague. “Spain will continue to fulfil its duty in the years and decades ahead and will continue to actively contribute to the European security architecture. However, Spain cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP at this summit,” Sánchez told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in a letter seen by POLITICO. Spain has the lowest military spending of any NATO member, allocating just 1.3 percent of its GDP to defense in 2024. Sánchez said earlier this year that Russia didn’t pose an immediate security threat to Spain. NATO countries meet next week for the first alliance summit since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The U.S. president wants members to spend 5 percent of their GDP on defense, a big jump from the current 2 percent target, which Madrid will reach only this year. To placate Trump, Rutte has proposed that the 5 percent target should include 3.5 percent of GDP on purely military expenditures and 1.5 percent for defense-related items such as military mobility and cybersecurity. NATO’s decision-making process is consensus-based, meaning one ally can block the other 31 with a veto. Earlier this month, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said Madrid would not prevent NATO allies from agreeing to a new 5 percent target, but that her country would stick to 2 percent for now. “Of course, it is not our intention to limit the spending ambitions of other allies or to obstruct the outcome of the upcoming summit,” the Sánchez letter reads, asking for either flexible wording that would make the target optional or a proper carve-out for Spain. In contrast, Swedish political parties on Thursday agreed to meet the 5 percent target by 2032 and to borrow as much as 300 billion krona (€27 billion) to do so. Sánchez argued that Spain doesn’t need to spend 5 percent of its GDP to fulfill its so-called capability targets, meaning new objectives of weapons inventory agreed by NATO defense ministers earlier this month. He also wrote that a 5 percent defense spending goal would jeopardize the country’s welfare system, force the government to increase taxes on the middle class, scale back commitments to the green transition and curtail international development cooperation.  “It is the legitimate right of every government to decide whether or not they are willing to make those sacrifices,” he wrote.  Rushing to 5 percent would also force Madrid to buy off-the-shelf equipment instead of fostering its own industrial base, as well as take money away from welfare policies, Sánchez also wrote. The Spanish Socialist party is in a coalition with the junior left-wing Sumar party, which opposes increased defense spending and whose members are expected to attend a counter-summit for peace in parallel to the NATO summit. The letter was first reported by Spanish outlet El País.

NATO defense ministers agreed Thursday to significantly increase air defenses and land forces to fend off Russia — and to dramatically raise military spending in the coming years to get there.  The ministers approved an overall increase of 30 percent in new requirements for military equipment — called capability targets — ahead of a summit of alliance leaders in The Hague later this month. “Today was historic and the summit will also be historic,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters after the meeting. “We live in a different world, we live in a more dangerous world,” Rutte said, referring to worries that Russia may be preparing to attack NATO. “We are safe today, but if we don’t [increase spending] we are not safe in the foreseeable future.” It’s the first time since the Cold War that capability targets have been linked to actual regional defense plans. The details are classified, but Rutte previously said that priorities include air and missile defense, large formations of land forces, long-range capabilities and logistics.   In 2023, NATO allies agreed at the Vilnius summit on new regional defense plans to defend against a possible Russian attack. Since then, NATO’s top military brass have been working on requirements in terms of military equipment, workforce and exercises to actually implement the plans.  ‘NOT AN AUDIENCE OF ONE’ Thursday’s meeting of defense ministers sets the ground for The Hague, where the alliance is bracing for the return of Donald Trump to NATO. The U.S. president has repeatedly called into question Washington’s commitment to the military alliance; during his first term as president he had to be talked out of withdrawing the U.S. from NATO. The Trump administration insists that European fears that the U.S. will abandon its security commitments are unfounded. In one sign that may calm worries, Trump this week nominated Air Force Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich to lead U.S. and NATO forces in Europe. That role has belonged to an American since the alliance was founded, but reports had suggested Trump was prepared to hand the position over to a European. Rutte pushed back against the broad perception that NATO allies are bending over backward to placate Trump and avoid any clashes at the summit — including over Ukraine. “We’re not doing it for an audience of one, we’re doing it to keep one billion people safe,” he told reporters. However, the final statement from The Hague summit is expected to be very brief so as not to risk a negative reaction from Trump. It is still not clear whether there will be any reference to Ukraine. “We’re at break-up point,” said one NATO official of the state of the alliance, speaking on condition of anonymity. They added that allies were aiming to keep the language as simple as possible to avoid provoking Trump. MORE MONEY FOR MORE WEAPONS  To reach the capability targets approved on Thursday, NATO leaders are expected to agree to boost defense spending to 5 percent of GDP at The Hague — including 3.5 percent on purely military expenditures and 1.5 percent for defense-related items such as military mobility, Rutte told reporters. Trump first floated the 5 percent figure months ago, a big leap from the alliance’s current target of at least 2 percent of GDP. Spain, one of the last holdouts, said earlier on Thursday it wouldn’t veto a deal on the new goal.  Details still need to be hammered out, including the deadline for reaching that threshold and the definition of what qualifies for both spending categories. Rutte has suggested a 2032 deadline for the new spending goal, but Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said ahead of the meeting that 2032 was too late and that allies should commit to reach 5 percent within five years instead.  That view is shared by other frontline states concerned about a Russian attack. Members will have to present plans for yearly increases to show their progress toward the new objective, Rutte told reporters.  Reaching the 30 percent increase in capabilities will require a lot of cash, especially as some nations still haven’t reached earlier goals set in 2021. The Dutch government has estimated that meeting them will cost an extra €19 billion a year, on top of the current 2 percent of GDP defense budget.  The bulk of the effort will have to be made in the next five to 10 years, but the goals span the next two decades and will be reassessed every four years, a senior NATO official said.  Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Germany will need to add 50,000 to 60,000 active-duty soldiers to its current strength of 182,000 to meet NATO’s new objectives.   Chris Lunday, Csongor Körömi and Paul McLeary contributed reporting.