Could ReArm Europe end up funding landmines?

As five EU countries and Ukraine are withdrawing from the treaty banning anti-personnel mines, the European Commission did not clarify whether the controverisal weapons will be eligible for funding under the new €800 billion defence plan

Paolo ValentiRedattore lavialibera

4 luglio 2025

As five EU countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Poland) and Ukraine are taking steps to withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines, the European Commission, contacted by lavialibera, did not clarify whether the potential aquisition of such controversial weapons will be eligible for funding under the €800 billion ReArm Europe plan.

No clear answer from Brussels

As of now, the official documents outlining the plan do not rule out this possibility. The SAFE regulation (Security Action for Europe) approved by the European Council on May 27, which allows for €150 billion in loans to EU member states to strengthen their defense capabilities, covers the acquisition of “ground combat capabilities and their support systems” as well as “counter-mobility”, two categories which could potentially include anti-personnel mines. The other financial instrument, the national escape clause allowing member States to exempt up to €650 billion in military investments from EU fiscal rules, covers “total defense spending,” without specifying what types of weapons are eligible.

Asked whether anti-personnel mines will be explicitly excluded from these funding instruments, the European Commission did not respond. “This is one of the issues where international civil society will need to mobilize and lobby,” says Giuseppe Schiavello, director of the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines, speaking to lavialibera. “We cannot allow EU funds to be used for this purpose—and based on current trends, I wouldn’t rule out this could happen.”

Allowing mines while funding demining

The EU’s ambiguity on the issue is further underscored by its recent statements—and silences. Just over a year ago, on May 27, 2024, the European Council declared that “any use of anti-personnel mines anywhere, anytime, and by any actor remains completely unacceptable to the EU.” Today, responding to lavialibera, a European Commission spokesperson simply “noted” the decision of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland to withdraw from the treaty. In April, Euronews also reported that the European Parliament rejected an amendment that "strongly condemns the intention of some member states to withdraw from the 1997 Convention", while a motion justifying the move, tabled by the European People’s Party, was adopted.

Meanwhile, the European Union continues to promote itself as "the world's second largest donor in mine action", having contributed over €180 million since 2023, in line with its longstanding committment to a "landmine-free world by 2025". “This is clearly a paradox,” says Schiavello. “We spend money on demining, while allowing member states to deploy mines again. It’s a vicious cycle that goes against the spirit of the Convention.”

The deadly legacy of landmines

According to the Landmine Monitor, in 2023 landmines and other unexploded ordnance killed 1,983 people and injured 3,663—a 22 percent increase over the previous year. Civilians made up 84 percent of the victims, and 37 percent of those were children. “These are weapons with very limited military utility, but devastating post-conflict consequences, especially for civilians,” says Vito Alfieri Fontana, a former mine manufacturer turned demining expert.

Technological improvements and “smart mine” labels change little, he warns: “What would it take for a mine to be ‘smart’? To distinguish between a child and a soldier. But they don’t. Some now include self-deactivation mechanisms after two or three months—but in that time, they can still kill. And because they must be cheap, they often malfunction. So, what we call ‘intelligence’ can become pure madness.”

It will take several more months before the withdrawals of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Finland from the Ottawa Treaty become official. But one thing is already clear: a longstanding European taboo has been broken, raising fears of a dangerous domino effect. “All moral constraints are crumbling,” Fontana concluded. “We are witnessing the unraveling of the Convention, whose only purpose is to save human lives.”