Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-001202/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Friedrich Pürner (NI)
On 19 March 2025, the Commission presented the White Paper on European Defence and the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030. A total of EUR 800 billion are to be invested in programmes such as ‘ReArm Europe’ and ‘Security Action for Europe’ (SAFE EU). The Commission President emphasised that the era of the peace dividend was over and that the EU would have to switch to a war economy. The aim is to make Europe fit for war by 2030 – a choice of words that could stir up fears among the population and make them receptive to the announced ‘turning point’.
Although Article 41(2) of the Treaty on European Union prohibits military and defence expenditure from the EU budget, the Commission is planning this massive increase in military hardware. Moreover, the plans are to be adopted in an expedited procedure, deliberately without the involvement of the European Parliament, which is responsible for budgetary approval and budget review.
- 1.On what legal basis does the Commission justify restricting the European Parliament’s co-decision powers, thereby weakening democratic scrutiny by elected Members?
- 2.How does the Commission reconcile the proposal to upgrade military hardware and the coordination thereof with the EU Treaty, particularly with regard to the principle of subsidiarity?
- 3.What specific measures, points of contact and control mechanisms will be put in place to avoid mistakes such as those made in the acquisition of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic – in particular under the responsibility of the Commission President – and how does the Commission ensure transparency and the enforcement of accountability in the use of funds under these programmes?
Submitted: 20.3.2025