In May, the EU decided, for the first time, to help finance defense spending for its 27 member states by taking on EU-wide debt. This move came from the realization that even serious spending hikes in individual countries—European states have doubled their defense outlays since 2015—would vary widely given the economic disparities. Germany, for instance, plans to invest roughly $77 billion over five years, meaning that by 2030, its defense budget could be the world’s third largest. But that kind of spending is not possible for countries that already carry more debt, and confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin, potentially without U.S. backing, will require the rearmament of all. To this end, the EU has now established an extraordinary instrument, called Security Action for Europe, or SAFE, that is prepared to fund up to $178 billion in upgrades to the continent’s capacity to produce and procure arms.