How much is Europe spending for preparadness against imminent geopolitical crisis?
Dear European Defence Agency,
i'd like to know which imminent threats the EU is forecasting and how it is preparing against them, particularly with a detailed expenditures list.
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
Yours faithfully,
Antonio Lo Monte
Dear Mr Lo Monte,
Thank you for your e-mail dated 28th December 2025. We therefore
acknowledge receipt of your application for access to documents, which was
registered today, 5th January 2026, under the reference number 2026/01/IN.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on
26/01/2026. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
Sincerely,
EDA Access to Documents
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Dear Mr Lo Monte,
We refer to your application for access to documents sent by e-mail
on 28^th December 2025 and registered on 5^th January 2026, under
reference number 2026/01/IN.
Your application
In your application you request access to documents that contain the
imminent threats the EU is forecasting and how it is preparing against
them, particularly with a detailed expenditures list.
Assessment
In accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
049/2001 regarding public access to documents, we have conducted an
internal search for documents falling within the scope of your request.
In particular, we would like to inform you that, regarding the imminent
threats the EU is forecasting, we did not identify any relevant
documents that cover this information.
Regarding your request to access detailed expenditures list, we advise you
to review the documents available online through the [1]Defence Data
Portal on the EDA website, where each year we publish an Excel
spreadsheets with the latest data available to share publicly. These
data currently cover the period 2005-2024 and include EU27 aggregated data
on total defence expenditure and defence investment. You can also find on
this page EDA’s Defence Data report for each year with details on the
defence spending of all EU Member States.
Means of redress
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, you are entitled
to make a confirmatory application requesting EDA to review its
position.
Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days
upon receipt of this e-mail to the Chief Executive of EDA to the following
email: [2][EDA request email]
Sincerely,
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From: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS <[EDA request email]>
Sent: Monday, 5 January 2026 15:48
To: Antonio Lo MOnte <[FOI #16697 email]>
Cc: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS <[EDA request email]>
Subject: RE: access to documents request - How much is Europe spending for
preparadness against imminent geopolitical crisis?
Dear Mr Lo Monte,
Thank you for your e-mail dated 28th December 2025. We therefore
acknowledge receipt of your application for access to documents, which was
registered today, 5th January 2026, under the reference number 2026/01/IN.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on
26/01/2026. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
Sincerely,
EDA Access to Documents
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Dear ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS,
I'd like to ask:
- how much money has been poured into the war in Ukraine and what is the number of casualties there
- how much is being spent in rearming Europe
- what are the arrangements with key European industry actors to rearm
- why is the continent rearming
Yours sincerely,
Antonio Lo MOnte
Dear Mr Lo Monte,
Thank you for your e-mail dated 29^th January 2026. We therefore
acknowledge receipt of your application for access to documents, which was
registered today 2^nd February 2026 under the reference number 2026/03/IN.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on
23/02/2026. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
Sincerely,
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Dear Mr Lo Monte,
We refer to your application for access to documents sent by e-mail on
29th January 2026 and registered on 2^nd February 2026 under the reference
number 2026/03/IN.
Your application
In your application you request access to documents that cover the
following information:
1. How much money has been poured into the war in Ukraine and what is the
number of casualties there;
2. How much is being spent in rearming Europe;
3. What are the arrangements with key European industry actors to rearm;
4. Why is the continent rearming.
Assessment
We have conducted an internal search of the documents falling within the
scope of your request and we would like to recall that you recently
submitted another application (reference number 2026/01/IN) where you
requested access to documents that contain “the imminent threats the EU is
forecasting and how it is preparing against them, particularly with a
detailed expenditures list”. Considering your previous application, as
well as our reply to it, we would like to add the following elements:
• Regarding point 1, the Agency does not hold documents relevant to your
request. As specified in Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001,
the right of access applies only to existing documents in the
possession of the institution. Considering that EDA is not directly
involved in the war in Ukraine, no such documents, corresponding to
the description given in your application, are held by EDA, therefore
the latter is not in a position to fulfil your request. For your
complete information, please note that EDA is an Agency established by
the Treaty on the European Union (TEU), and particularly in articles
42 and 45 thereof and operates under the authority of the Council. The
Agency’s statute and operational rules are provided by the Council
Decision (CFSP) 2015/1835, which also details its mission and tasks.
You can find further details on our activities and tasks under [1]What
we do (europa.eu).
For further information on the European support to Ukraine, we advise you
to consult the European Peace Facility website which is the competent
actor on the topic (link [2]here and [3]here).
• Regarding point 2, 3 and 4, as previously mentioned, we advise you to
review the documents available online through the [4]Defence Data
Portal on the EDA website.
We would also like to redirect you to the [5]White paper for European
defence and the Rearm Europe Plan - Readiness 2030, a document
presented by the European Commission where you can find complete
information about industry engagement, defence expenditure and the
priorities of the European Union on the matter of defence.
Means of redress
In accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation 1049/2001, you are entitled
to make a confirmatory application requesting EDA to review its position.
Such a confirmatory application should be addressed within 15 working days
upon receipt of this e-mail to the Chief Executive of EDA to the following
email: [6][EDA request email]
Sincerely,
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│ │ [9]www.eda.europa.eu │
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From: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS <[EDA request email]>
Sent: Monday, 2 February 2026 11:36
To: Antonio Lo MOnte <[FOI #16697 email]>
Cc: ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS <[EDA request email]>
Subject: RE: access to documents request - How much is Europe spending for
preparadness against imminent geopolitical crisis?
Dear Mr Lo Monte,
Thank you for your e-mail dated 29^th January 2026. We therefore
acknowledge receipt of your application for access to documents, which was
registered today 2^nd February 2026 under the reference number 2026/03/IN.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to
European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, your application
will be handled within 15 working days. The time limit will expire on
23/02/2026. In case this time limit needs to be extended, you will be
informed in due course.
Sincerely,
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│EDA Access to Documents │
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│[10]A logo with │ │
│text on it │ │
│AI-generated │ │
│content may be │[11][EDA request email] │
│incorrect. │ Rue des Drapiers 17-23, 1050 │
│ │Brussels, Belgium │
│FOLLOW US ON │ [12]www.eda.europa.eu │
│ │ │
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