US asks Europe to spend more money for defence

"The reason [behind less defence spending] is political," Rem Korteweg, a senior research fellow at the CER, said in a phone interview. "They would need to cut back either on social welfare spending or their austerity program if they decide to increase defence spending," he said, adding that the financial recovery of European countries is still very fragile.

...So while NATO officials said Russia may invade Ukraine "any day now," Korteweg believes the threat won't push governments to change their budgets in the short term, especially not in the 2014 fiscal year. "If you, for instance, decide to increase defence spending today, the impact will only let itself be felt in four or seven years down the line, so when dealing with the current Ukraine crisis, it won’t matter," Korteweg said.