European officials pitch new idea to shore up defenses with Trump's return

European officials are struggling to agree on a plan to shore up hundreds of billions of dollars to bolster defenses.

The European Commission estimates about 500 billion euros, the equivalent of $524 billion in investments, are needed in the coming decade to defend Europe against evolving threats. 

The EU's budget cannot be used to fund defense directly, and some European officials and NATO experts are proposing a global defense bank to dole out funds for military modernization.