Marco Buti: Europe’s defense spending is a move towards ‘strategic autonomy’ from the U.S.

Photo: Marco Buti, director-general for Economic and Financial Affairs at the European Commission, arrives for a dinner during the Jackson Hole economic symposium, sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, in Moran, Wyoming, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. The world's two most powerful central bankers on Friday delivered back-to-back warnings against dismantling tough post-crisis financial rules that the Trump administration blames for stifling U.S. growth. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Good morning. Europe’s defense industry is about to get the boost of a lifetime. With its “ReArm Europe” plan, the European Union is planning to increase defense spending by $865 billion (€800 billion) over the next few years. Last week, the new German government in Berlin piled on, announcing it would lift its government spending limit to allow for $1.08 trillion (€1 trillion) in additional investments, part of which will also go to defense. If it materializes, the consequences for both European and American Fortune 500 defense companies will be huge.