At the Euronews Defence & Space Summit, MEPs Wouter Beke and Tobias Cremer debated Europe’s defence priorities on a live edition of The Ring. Key issues included national vetoes, the idea of a European army, and a proposal for a European Security Council. Central to the discussion was whether a 5% of GDP defence spending target is a sensible goal or a distracting fixation, and who would fund rearmament as calls for a European Defence Union grow.
Can Europe Afford Its Defence Boost? MEPs Debate the 5% GDP Target on The Ring
Can Europe afford its defence boost? MEPs debate in The Ring
In a special live edition of The Ring recorded at the Euronews Defence & Space Summit, presenter Méabh Mc Mahon moderated a public debate between two European lawmakers: Belgian centre-right EPP MEP Wouter Beke and German Social Democrat Tobias Cremer. The discussion addressed how Europe should prepare for growing security challenges and who will pay for that preparation.
Topics Under Debate
The debate covered a wide range of key defence questions: national control and veto powers in EU decision-making; the political and practical feasibility of a fully fledged European army; a proposal to create a European Security Council; and whether the EU should adopt a 5% of GDP defence spending target — a figure that generated sharp disagreement over whether it is a necessary standard or a misleading fixation.
MEP Wouter Beke in The Ring - Melting Prod
Cost and Sovereignty
Speakers probed who would ultimately bear the cost of rearmament if the EU moves toward deeper defence integration. The exchange examined tensions between member states’ desire to retain national control and the argument that pooled resources or joint funding mechanisms are needed to build interoperable and credible European capabilities.
Defence Autonomy
Beke and Cremer also debated whether Europe should aim to be capable of defending itself independently of the United States, and — if so — how genuinely "European" such capabilities, procurement and decision-making should be. The conversation highlighted trade-offs between speed, unity and national prerogatives.
Watch the full debate in the video above to see the two MEPs go face-to-face on how Europe can prepare for an uncertain tomorrow.
Production credits: This live episode of The Ring was moderated by Méabh Mc Mahon, produced by Luis Albertos Altarejos and Amaia Echevarria, and edited by Vassilis Glynos.
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