Von der Leyen: "We need major investments to be able to protect ourselves from any attack"

Investments in the European defense industry are necessary for EU member states to have the necessary means to protect themselves and to repel any attack against them, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission, said last Friday in Prague at the GLOBSEC Forum European.

The head of the Community Executive specified: "We Europeans must have the means to protect ourselves and repel any attack. It will take time and major investment to restart the defense industry. We need to think about safety in everything we do. Even if Europeans take today's security threats seriously, it will take time and massive investment to restructure our defense industries. Our goal must be to build production capacity in the defense industry to provide the necessary equipment for the entire continent. (...) Europe has overcome its reluctance to invest in defence. I cannot thank the US enough for its support in protecting the freedom of all European citizens, but the protection of Europe is the first obligation of Europeans."

In her speech, the President of the European Commission also referred to the attitudes of some European leaders who are benevolent towards Vladimir Putin.

Ursula von der Leyen said: "Today, some politicians within our Union, and even in this part of Europe, are muddying the waters of our conversation about Ukraine. They blame the war not on the invader but on the invaded; not on Putin's lust for power, but on Ukraine's thirst. for freedom. So I want to ask them: would you ever blame the Hungarians for the Soviet invasion in 1956? Would you ever blame the Czechs for the Soviet repression of 1968? And the answer to that question is very clear: if that Kremlin behavior was illegal and atrocious in the past, then the Kremlin's behavior today is also illegal and atrocious. We Europeans can have different histories. We may speak different languages, but in no language is peace synonymous with surrender. In no language is sovereignty synonymous with occupation."

The above statement of the president of the European Commission takes place in the context in which Brussels has blocked the allocation of 6.5 billion euros for Ukraine, due to the veto expressed by the Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.

Regarding von der Leyen's vision for the future of the European Union, defense is the zero priority for the next five years, with the European Commission president presenting several proposals so far to increase public and private investment in the arms industry, to promote the latest technology, for organizing joint purchases of military equipment, for increasing cyber defense capabilities and strengthening protection against hybrid attacks. Furthermore, Ursula von der Leyen wants to have a dedicated defense commissioner in the new European Commission, although it is not clear what power he will have, as long as EU treaties leave defense in the hands of member states.