The EU should cover costs related to confronting Russia, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, Politico reports. He said that the EU should grant an additional EUR 7bn from its next multi-annual budget to compensate for Latvia’s higher defence spending and loss of trade with Russia. Latvia’s projected defence spending over the seven-year budget period will amount to EUR 15.1bn. Kulbergs pointed out that Latvia was ensuring security for EU countries far from the front line, and that much of Latvia’s defence spending fuels Western European economies.
Kulbergs told LETA that allocating 5% of GDP to defence was not enough to secure Europe’s eastern flank. He said that the EU should provide more financial support for defence, investments, and economic development to countries on the EU’s eastern border. The amount of support should take into account their geographic location and threat level, he said. Kulbergs ruled out raising taxes to generate additional funding for defence, however. Instead, he called for cutting unnecessary spending, plugging budget leaks, and finding new sources of revenue.
Meanwhile, Ainars Slesers, leader of the far-right opposition party, Latvia First, demanded that the EU compensate Latvia for sanctions imposed on Russia. Speaking to Politico, he argued that Latvia could not absorb the costs of supporting Ukraine indefinitely. He did not rule out Latvia vetoing further sanctions. Slesers, who has a long history of doing business with Russian partners, insisted that Latvia needed to restore economic ties with Russia eventually. He suggested that Ukraine might have to cede territory to reach a peace agreement with Russia.