Von der Leyen: “We must build continent-size defence output”

Brussels – The United States is a great friend; we can count on them, but it is time for Europe to equip itself with the tools to defend itself; the future is full of threats. That’s the appeal made with great force today by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her opening speech at the GLOBSEC Forum 2024 in Prague, the most important security forum in Central Europe, as she called it.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to help a country whose prospect is membership in the Union, von der Leyen reiterated, “​Europe has overcome its long-standing unwillingness to spend enough on its own defence. I cannot overemphasise the importance of the US’ support for Ukraine since the start of this war.

Once again,” the German politician stressed, “America has stood up for the freedom of all Europeans. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for this, but also a deep sense of responsibility.”

The United States, however, has long been trying to lighten the burden of Europe’s defence, and the situation could precipitate if Donald Trump wins in the November elections. So “protecting Europe is first and foremost Europe’s duty.

And while NATO must remain the centre of our collective defence,” von der Leyen explained “we need a much stronger European pillar. We Europeans need to have the means to defend and protect ourselves and deter any possible adversaries“.

“Since the start of the war, we have already made unprecedented progress. Member states have stepped up their defence spending from just over 200 billion euros before the war to nearly 300 billion euros this year.

And our defence industry has also stepped up to the new reality. We have reopened production lines. We have placed new orders and cut red tape for industry, to produce more and more quickly,” she recalled. “But this is not enough.

The reality is that even if Europeans take the current security threats seriously, it will take time and investment to re-structure our defence industries. Our aim— she stressed—must be to build continent-size defence output.”

According to the president, “The challenge is for small countries and small businesses to learn to think big, really big. We must have in mind a systemic overhaul of Europe’s defence. This is Europe’s strategic responsibility, irrespective of the outcome of the US elections on Nov. 5.”

For von der Leyen, “at the beginning of this decade, many illusions were shattered in Europe. The illusion that peace had been achieved once and for all. The illusion that prosperity might matter more to Putin than his delusional dreams of empire. The illusion that Europe was doing enough on security—be it economically or militarily.”

So, she concluded, “today we cannot afford any more illusions. The second half of the decade will be high risk. The war against Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East have set geopolitics in flux. Tensions are also running high in the Far East. We Europeans must be on guard. We must refocus our attention on the security dimension in everything we do. We must think about our Union as intrinsically
a security project.”