EUROPEAN Union states spent nearly 200 billion euros (US$225 billion) on defense in 2020, the most since records began in 2006, but joint investment by governments fell, the European Defence Agency (EDA) said in a report yesterday.

The EDA, an EU agency that helps the bloc’s governments to develop their military capabilities, said the total spending of EU countries except for Denmark, which opts out of EU military projects, reached US$198 billion, a 5 percent increase on 2019.

The defense expenditure amounted to 1.5 percent of the 26 EU states’ economic output, a welcome figure for the U.S.-led NATO alliance, which has sought a 2 percent spending goal for its allies. Most EU members are also part of NATO but want to able to act independently of the United States when necessary.

Proponents of stronger EU defense say the warnings have been many, from Britain’s departure from the bloc to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” priorities and failing states on Europe’s frontiers.

However, the EDA report noted a slump in collaborative spending despite an EU defense pact signed in late 2017 to try to pool resources and end the competition between national industries that has weakened past defence efforts.

“The downward trend on European collaborative spending is particularly concerning,” EDA chief executive Jiri Sedivy said in the report, which found a 13 percent decrease in joint equipment procurement compared with 2019, to 4.1 billion euros, the third-lowest value recorded by the agency. (SD-Agencies)