Poland is calling on Germany to immediately increase defense spending, while France is ramping up purchases of long-range weapons.

Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk believes that Central Europe, including Germany, should increase its defense spending to set an example for other countries following Trump’s victory, who has promised to reduce military aid to Ukraine and NATO allies.

Tomczyk supports possible new defense financing schemes, such as issuing joint EU bonds. Berlin, however, opposes this. Tomczyk noted that joint purchases of large quantities of weapons by EU states could open a window of opportunity for better deals with the US. In 2024, Warsaw allocated $46.4B (4.7% of GDP) for defense, while Germany, Ukraine’s largest arms supplier in the EU, will spend 2.1% of GDP (€72B).

The French Senate plans to order ammunition including aerial bombs, torpedoes, artillery shells, and missiles for various purposes, in particular SCALP cruise missiles with a 400-km range. In 2025, €1.9B will be spent on ammunition, which is €400M more than this year.