European Union defense spending increased by nearly 80% over the last five years.

Omissions

• The European Defence Agency's cumulative figure (~47%) appears to be expressed in real (constant-price) terms; the nominal (current-price) increase over the same period is larger, so the claim would only approach 'nearly 80%' if a nominal, current-price basis is used — which the MEP did not specify.
• The MEP did not specify whether the increase is nominal or real, nor the exact baseline year for 'the last five years'.
• The data covers the EU-27 aggregate as reported by the EDA; it is a rounded political figure rather than a directly published statistic.
• Some of the underlying EDA figures (Defence Data 2025-2026) were published in July 2026, i.e. shortly before the session of 16 September 2026, and were therefore available to the MEP.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Defence Agency (EDA) – News release: EU defence spending €418 billion in 2025Defence spending by the EU's 27 Member States reached €418 billion in 2025, a 20% increase compared to 2024, according to the European Defence Agency.
• PrimaryEDA – Defence Data 2025–2026 (report PDF)In 2025, total defence expenditure of the 27 EU Member States reached €418 billion (Figure 1), representing a 20% increase from 2024 and a cumulative 47% rise.
• PrimaryCouncil of the European Union (Consilium) – EU defence in numbersIn 2025, defence expenditure rose to 2.2% of EU member states' GDP, up from 1.9% in 2024. In 2026, it is expected to reach an estimated 2.4%.
• SecondaryEuropean Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) – EU Member States' defence budgetsGermany's defence spending rose by 23 % in real terms in 2024 and 18 % in 2025, bringing the 2025 budget to €95 billion, double its 2021 level.