“The future of the Union is written on the front of Ukraine and in the armament factories.” Warning of the European Commission's head of the NATO Summit in The Hague
The head of the European Commission. Ursula von der Leyen, at the NATO summit in The Hague. Photo: Nicolas Tucat / AFP / Profimedia
Russia will be able to test our defense capacity by 2030, warned the President of the European Commission on Tuesday, Ursula von der Leyen, who appealed to a change of mentality and “new ways to do” in the field of defense.
She said, in the margin of the NATO summit in The Hague, that the European Union must create the “right conditions” for more efficient defense acquisitions, both within the EU and with the candidates and other key partners, such as the UK, according to The Guardian.
“We know that Russia will be able to test our common defense commitments in the next five years,” said Von Der Leyen.
“By 2030, Europe must have everything they need for a credible discouragement. But this implies a new mentality for all of us. We must be prepared to leave the comfort zone, explore new ways of action, combine technology with defense, civil with the military – in Europe and, of course, beyond the European Union.”
Von Der Leyen also said on Tuesday that “the future of Europe is written on the Ukraine front, but also in armament factories”, appealing to strengthen the defense industry and adapt to the EU to the new security realities.
“In a record time, you have managed to open new production lines and accelerate the deliveries. You adapt to the reality of a magnitude war right here, on the territory of Europe. And, like your industry, the whole of Europe is experiencing a profound change in the international landscape,” Von Der Leyen said.
“As it was said earlier, rightly, the security architecture we have based for decades can no longer be considered a given. We live a tectonic change as it appears once in a generation.”
Praising the revised and extended plans in the field of defense, as well as the calls for the continuous modernization of the European armies and the support of double use projects, it said: “Defense Europe has finally aroused.”
NATO Member States, which meet from a Hague summit on Tuesday, gave their agreement on the gradual increase of defense expenses up to 5% of GDP until 2035, after Spain, which rejected this proposal made by the Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte.
Within the summit, the leaders will also adopt the deicis to ensure the forces, capabilities, resources, infrastructure and resilience necessary to strengthen the NATO post of discouragement and collective defense, the Presidential Administration shows.
The program of the summit will include a meeting at the highest level of the North Atlantic Council, as well as a series of protocol events. In the context, several official documents will be adopted, including the Declaration of the Hague Summit.
