Creating a European 'Rearmament Bank' — politically expedient but operationally tricky

Worries about the disengagement of the second Trump administration from European security have created significant political momentum in the European Union (EU) and among NATO allies to find alternative mechanisms to provide further funding for armaments in the context of stretched national government budgets and NATO’s recent commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence priorities. The UK Treasury proposed a European Rearmament Bank, while the EU Council of Ministers has adopted Security Action for Europe (SAFE) which would allow the EU Commission to borrow up to €150 billion to fund national armament purchases. Both proposals
come fraught with likely coordination difficulties with existing public development banks and national governments in addition to major accountability challenges.