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Pentagon requests $6.5B for fund to counter Russian aggression and reassure nervous European allies
The Pentagon is asking for $6.5 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) as part of its fiscal year 2019 budget request, compared to the $4.8 billion requested for fiscal 2018.
Formerly known as the European Reassurance Initiative, the fund was first created in 2014 to bolster the U.S. military in Europe and reassure allies worried about a resurgent Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea. The 2019 request “provides near-term flexibility and responsiveness to the evolving concerns of U.S. allies and partners in Europe and helps to increase the capability and readiness of U.S. allies and partners,” according to the Pentagon budget proposal.
Specifically, the funding would include $1.9 billion for increased presence, $290.8 million for exercises and training, $828.2 million for improved infrastructure, $3.2 billion for more prepositioned weapons and equipment, and $302.3 million for building partner capacity.
