Arya News - The military spending planned by the EU leadership will become a burden for most European countries, and current defense spending has reached a critical level for the EU economy, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Alexander Venediktov said in an interview with Sputnik.
"According to expert estimates, the additional investments in the military sector planned by the EU leadership over the next decade could reach 500 billion euros [$567 billion]. Obviously, this will be done by cutting programs in healthcare, social support, education, that is, at the expense of ordinary Europeans," Venediktov said. He said the current defense spending of EU states has reached "a critical level for the EU economy", exceeding 320 billion euros in 2024. The increase in military spending proposed by the European Commission and individual Western countries, such as the UK, Germany and the Baltic states, will lead to a significant deterioration in the EU"s macroeconomic indicators, Venediktov stressed.