Can Europe afford its defence boost? MEPs debate in The Ring

As security and hybrid threats are on the rise across Europe and the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year, the focus in Brussels is firmly on increasing defence spending. But who should pay, and how?

In this special live edition of The Ring from the Euronews Defence & Space Summit, Méabh Mc Mahon is joined by a live audience and leading European lawmakers — Belgian centre-right EPP member Wouter Beke and German social democrat Tobias Cremer.

Both MEPs engage in a wide-ranging discussion, covering topics from national control and vetoes to the possibility of a European army and a proposed European Security Council.

With defence budgets under the microscope, the debate in The Ring goes straight to the heart of the controversy: is the 5% of GDP target a necessary goal or a misleading obsession? And who ultimately pays the bill for rearmament as national control comes up against the prospect of a European Defence Union?

Beke and Cremer discuss if Europe should aim to become capable of defending itself without America, and if so, how European that defence should be.

Watch the full debate in the video above to see Europe's political heavyweights go face-to-face on how the continent prepares for an uncertain tomorrow.

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