EU Defense Cooperation Stalls Amid US Trade Threats; Germany Eyes Economic Expansion

The European Council's recent meeting on common defense concluded without concrete progress on shared defense spending or a unified defense strategy. The existing framework, where European defense complements NATO, remains in place. Individual member states retain autonomy in security and defense policies. Discussions on coordinating defense efforts, industrial policy, and strategic planning yielded no tangible results. The EU faces potential economic challenges as the US plans to impose tariffs, possibly starting April 2nd. These tariffs could reduce the Eurozone's GDP by 0.3% and increase inflation. Italy, with a significant trade surplus with the US, stands to be heavily impacted. Germany, under its next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, plans to invest €1.5 trillion in infrastructure and defense after amending its constitution to remove debt limitations.