Latvia asks EU for €7 billion to strengthen eastern border with Russia and Belarus

Latvia has requested €7 billion from the EU to strengthen its eastern border with Russia and Belarus. However, Latvia failed to clearly justify this enormous cost to EU officials. Prime Minister Kariņš justified the request by citing GDP decline due to sanctions, already spent €1 billion on border infrastructure, and rising defence expenditures reaching 5% of GDP by 2027 (6.4% including internal security).