BRUSSELS - European Union finance ministers on Tuesday allowed 15 member countries, including Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, to deviate from the bloc's strict budget rules in order to take on additional debt for defense expenditure.
EU countries are obliged to keep their deficit below 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and their debt ratio below 60 percent of GDP.
Russia's war against Ukraine and its threat to European security prompted EU countries to improve their defense capabilities.
The heightened pressure to rearm has made it difficult however for many of the EU's 27 member countries to invest in defense while adhering to the bloc's spending limits.
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia are now granted a deviation from the rules.
Germany had also applied for the exemption but still needs to submit a long-term budget plan to the European Commission before its application can be assessed.
Under the new exemption, capitals can spend an additional 1.5 percent of GDP on defense without having to face penalties.
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