European Macroeconomic Report 2026

Priority question for written answer P-000734/2026
to the Commission
Rule 144
Rasmus Andresen (Verts/ALE)

The European Macroeconomic Report 2026 contains a detailed quantitative simulation, based on the QUEST model, which projects that meeting NATO defence spending targets would increase EU GDP by approximately 0.8 % by 2035.

However, the report does not provide comparable simulations for the EU's other common policy priorities. Nor were similar analyses included in Commission reports published between 2012 and 2024 (i.e. in the Annual Sustainable Growth Strategy or Annual Growth Survey).

This analytical asymmetry effectively presents defence spending as a growth-enhancing investment, while implicitly treating other priority investments as mere expenditures. Such an approach risks skewing the debate on how public resources should be allocated across competing priorities.

In this context, the following questions arise:

• 1.On what methodological basis did the Commission decide to produce a dedicated macroeconomic simulation for defence spending in 2026, while refraining from conducting comparable analyses for other EU priorities over the past decade?
• 2.Will the Commission commit to publishing methodologically consistent studies assessing the short- and long-term fiscal multipliers of investments in other common European priority areas?
• 3.Does the Commission intend to broaden its analytical framework beyond GDP effects to include indicators such as energy costs and competitiveness, greenhouse gas emissions, income inequality and external dependencies, including reliance on fossil fuel imports?

Submitted: 23.2.2026