During a plenary debate on European security and support for Ukraine, García called for a true defence union financed through common debt rather than national solutions while maintaining social spending and preserving the welfare state.
García called for a proposal to confiscate the €200 billion in frozen Russian state assets to rebuild and arm Ukraine, while also allowing Ukraine the use of weapons to strike military targets on Russian territory.
Iratxe García, S&D Group leader, said:
“Rearming Europe is a positive step, but it is only the first one. We cannot rely on national solutions that risk fragmentation such as the suspension of fiscal rules – the €650 billion will likely not be reached since not all countries have the same fiscal muscle. The €150 billion in loans of common debt must be the embryo of a new instrument that builds from NextGenerationEU. We need more common debt, more solidarity and more strategic vision while we keep the social spending and the welfare state."
