EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told leaders Thursday that the bloc needs to invest 500 billion euros ($535 billion) in the next decade to bolster its defences.

European Union countries are pushing to ramp up their defence industries and rearm their militaries in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after years of underinvestment.

“We estimate that additional defence investments of around 500 billion euros are needed over the next decade,” von der Leyen said.

The head of the EU’s executive did not, however, provide a detailed breakdown of what her projected sum covered.

“We didn’t see spreadsheets, we didn’t see details, this is pie in the sky money,” an EU diplomat said.

There is also no clarity as yet on how the EU would finance the investment — with options being mooted including national spending or joint EU defence bonds.

There is a standoff over whether the EU should consider joint borrowing, similar to how it financed its recovery programme after the Covid pandemic.

“Several countries, including France and Estonia, are in favour of eurobonds,” an EU official said. “But Germany and the Netherlands are against.”