European Union leaders gathering on Monday in Brussels are under much pressure to break the deadlock and agree on significantly higher defence expenditures despite gloomy economic outlooks.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have planned to join EU leaders in discussions on bolstering European defence capabilities.

Daniel Fiott, a professor at the Free University of Brussels (VUB), told dpa that the return of U.S. President Donald Trump is making the matter even more urgent amid concerns over his interest in gaining control of Greenland, possibly fewer U.S. soldiers in Europe, and less support for Ukraine.

“The biggest challenge is how do we get Europeans to essentially take over the conventional defence of Europe,’’ said Mr Fiott.

Mr Fiott heads the Defence and Statecraft Programme at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at VUB.

“No one will wait for Europe, not least Mr Putin in Moscow,’’ Mr Fiott said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The EU has struggled to ramp up arms production in recent years despite Russia’s war against Ukraine, adding urgency to the effort and military assistance for Kyiv’s depleting domestic stocks.

EU countries have so far failed to agree on a precise plan of how big of an investment is needed and what capabilities should be built up by then, Mr Fiott said.

He said the meeting in Brussels is focused on taking stock of the challenges.

Another major challenge is agreeing on how to finance higher defence spending.

After several crises, many European countries have become short on money and are faced with faltering economies.

Possible solutions, such as joint borrowing at the European level or the softening of the EU deficit limit, have failed to receive sufficient support.

A compromise could be to finance more defence projects via the European Investment Bank.

Mr Fiott called on the EU’s two biggest countries, Germany and France, to take on a leadership role, including convincing the public that increasing spending was inevitable.

“If things get a lot worse in Ukraine and if the war spills over into Europe more generally, then the costs will be even bigger.

“No one likes spending money on the military; unfortunately, in this period of history, it’s needed,” the professor stated.

Mr Fiott pointed towards several initiatives by the European Commission, including for enhanced cyber and air-missile defence, but urged leaders to go beyond the declaration phase, beyond words and develop a coherent plan, adding, “Time is not on our side.”

(dpa/NAN)