The European Union spent more than $400 billion on defense in 2024, marking a 19% increase from the previous year. Defense spending by EU nations is expected to increase further in 2025. The hike comes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and President Trump’s push for Europe to assume a greater share of the burden for its own defense.
According to a new report by the European Defense Agency, the increase is driven largely by record procurements of weapons and equipment and rising investments in research and development. It reflects the determination of Europe to strengthen the union’s military capabilities in response to what the EDA refers to as “the evolving security environment.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said Europe is spending record amounts on defense in a trend that will continue into the foreseeable future.
“This investment will be funneled into everything from research and development to the joint procurement and production of essential defense components,” Ms. Kallas said in a statement when the report was released. “Defense today is not a ’nice-to-have’ but fundamental for the protection of our citizens. This must be the era of European defense.”
Last year, 25 of 27 EU member states increased defense spending in real terms, an increase of one from the previous year. Spending decreased slightly in Ireland and Malta, which devote the least amount of money toward the military within the European Union.
“Sixteen member states raised their expenditure by more than 10%, compared to 11 in 2023,” according to the report.
Investments in researching, developing, and procuring weapons and other defense equipment continue to drive the growth in total defense expenditures, as the EU member states adapt to the shifting geopolitical environment and work to fill capability and preparedness gaps. Spending on weapon systems reached a record high of $123 billion in 2024, according to the report.
Despite their continued effort to increase preparedness and bolster their armed forces, the EU report notes that their efforts are outpaced by other major powers, particularly the United States.
Andre Denk, the chief executive of the European Defense Agency, said he was encouraged to see EU members increasing their defense spending to record levels.
“Meeting the new NATO target of 3.5% of GDP will require even more effort, spending a total of more than [$730 billion] a year,” Mr. Denk said in a statement. “Yet we must also cooperate closely, find economies of scale, and increase interoperability.”
The U.S. spent about $997 billion on defense in 2024, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The figure represents the total military expenditure, including funding for the Department of Defense, the national security programs of the Department of Energy, and other defense-related activities.
“Unlike the U.S., EU [member states] are not spending their defense budget as a centralized and unified bloc,” according to the European Defense Agency report. “Defense budgets are decided and allocated by 27 national governments, which may lead to greater fragmentation, duplication of efforts, and reduced efficiency in defense spending.”
As a result, European countries operate a wider variety of weapon systems across key platforms when compared to the U.S., leading to interoperability issues and making joint operations, logistics, training, and maintenance more challenging, according to the EDA report.
“The purchase of diverse weapon systems by [member states] also limits possibilities of economies of scale and weakens collective bargaining power with industry, ultimately driving up unit costs,” the report stated.
European military spending has been on the rise since 2014, when Russia occupied and later annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. The Kremlin then began providing military support to pro-Moscow separatists in the eastern Donbas region, igniting the ongoing war with Ukraine.
The EU collectively spends more on defense than the declared expenditures of Russia — about $124 billion — and China — about $290 billion. However, both countries have increased their defense budgets at significantly higher rates than the EU over the last two decades, according to the report.
Although not an EU member, the U.K. has also dramatically increased its military spending since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government will deliver on the promise to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense and plans to reach that level by 2027.
“All European allies must step up and do more for our own defense,” Mr. Starmer said in February 2025 during a speech at the House of Commons. “We will also set a clear ambition for defense spending to rise to 3% of GDP in the next Parliament.”
At the NATO summit in The Hague in June 2025, allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP annually on core defense requirements and defense and security-related spending by 2035.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.