In 2024, member states collectively spent an average of 1.9% of GDP on defence, while Russia was spending 9%, Kaja Kallas told the audience of the European Defence Agency annual conference on Monday.
The European Union must boost its defence spending to "prepare for the worst" and be able to defend itself "alone if needed" against a belligerent Russia, the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday.
"Many of our national intelligence agencies* are giving us the information that Russia could test the EU's readiness to defend itself in three to five years," Kallas told the audience at the European Defence Agency's annual conference in Brussels.