President von der Leyen was in The Hague early this week to attend the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum where she reiterated the EU's support to Ukraine and called for a strengthened Europe of Defence. She insisted on the key role of SAFE and a message of togetherness, not only within the Union but with trusted allies, friends and partners.
President von der Leyen addressed government representatives and representatives of the defence industry in her speech at the opening session of the Forum and took part in a panel with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where she answered questions on the EU's readiness and collaboration with NATO.
The President also delivered a statement together with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Council President António Costa, and Secretary General Rutte.
The President opened her speech by stating all the actions the EU has taken recently to speed up and scale up European defence: "In recent months, Europe has taken action that seemed unthinkable until just last year. We set up the ReArm Europe Plan, to mobilise €650 billion in defence investment over the next four years. In just four months, we created a new financial instrument called SAFE, with €150 billion in loans for joint defence procurement. So overall as you said, Readiness 2030 is €800 billion over the next four years to be invested in defence. Last week, we proposed a simplification omnibus, to radically speed up our defence investment. And we signed eight Defence and Security Partnerships with countries across the world – the latest of them with Canada yesterday. The Europe of defence has finally awakened."
The President of the Commission went on to call for defence primes and start-ups to bridge the gaps between them, pointing out the key role tech start-ups can play in defence. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, investment in European defence tech start-ups has increased by 500%. However, President von der Leyen called for an improvement in the support offered to start-ups. She stated: "Our start-ups must be able to grow and to grow here in the European Single Market. We need to identify potential unicorns proactively, and channel more capital towards them, from both public and private investors. Our continent is home to so many innovators and pioneers. They must be able to find what they need to thrive, right here in Europe."
Further, the President called for bridges to be built between civilian and military explaining that, as many critical components of 21st century defence are dual-use, those projects should be allowed to run on civilian platforms. To go in this direction, the President announced: "We will allow dual-use projects to access our new AI Gigafactories, with their unparalleled computational power. And the same goes for our European Innovation Council Fund for start-ups. We will seek this kind of synergy across the board. We must better connect our tech industry to our defence industrial base."
In this regard, President von der Leyen praised the Ukrainian defence industry and its capacity to innovate, produce rapidly, reliably and at scale, always being at the top of the latest technology. She stated: "There is much, we in Europe, can learn from Ukraine in this regard. Through this programme, we aim not only to strengthen our mutual defence capabilities but also to support Ukraine in its ongoing fight for survival."
President von der Leyen also insisted on the threat Russia represents and the necessity for Europe to adopt a readiness mindset stating: "This requires a new mindset for all of us. We must be ready to leave our comfort zone. We need to explore new ways of doing things, bringing together tech and defence, civilian and military, in Europe and beyond. Together, we can deter everyone who seeks to do us harm. For a stronger NATO, and a stronger and safer Europe." Europe must not only increase pressure on Russia with biting sanctions package but also be ready to take a step further and be a credible source of deterrence.
The President of the Commission concluded her visit to The Hague attending the NATO Leaders dinner, hosted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.
