Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took part yesterday in an informal EU Leaders' retreat organised by the President of the European Council, António Costa, on the topic of European defence.
The informal gathering was an occasion for EU Leaders to discuss different aspects of the future of defence in the EU, such as collective capabilities, means of financing, and relations with strategic partners in the defence area.
There is growing agreement amongst Leaders that the EU must do more to secure its own defence capabilities. During the closing press conference together with President Costa and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, President von der Leyen emphasised her determination to find the means to properly finance the EU defence needs: "We first of all need more public funding. I am willing to explore and will use the full range of flexibilities we have in the new Stability and Growth Pact to allow for a significant increase in defence spending. Furthermore, the second leg would be that we are working with the EIB to increase the flexibility of lending practices. And, of course, we need more private funding, so we need to have a dialogue with the private banking sector, so that it modernises its lending practices," the President said.
She also highlighted the importance of tapping the potential of joint procurement to benefit from economies of scale and increased interoperability of Europe's defence equipment.
Moreover, Leaders discussed the link between competitiveness and defence and the positive effect of defence investments in boosting Europe's competitiveness.
President von der Leyen, who presented last week the Commission's Competitiveness Compass , said that the EU must simplify its legislation, use defence investments to also create know-how and good jobs in Europe, and foster European innovation in the field of defence, including through increased cooperation with Ukraine: "It is amazing to see how fast the Ukrainian industry has been built up, for example with cheaper, faster and more intelligent drones. So our defence industry can learn a lot from the Ukrainian defence industry that has the experience of the battlefield every single day," the President said.
The Commission will present its White Paper on the Future of European Defence by March, which will be the basis for a formal discussion amongst EU Leaders during their regular European Council meeting in June.
Strategic partnerships around the world
There is strong commitment by the EU to strengthen its relationship with strategic partners. In that sense, Leaders welcomed NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
On relations between the European Union and the United States, President von der Leyen said the EU is ready for robust and constructive dialogue, prioritising early engagement. At the same time, she recognised potential challenges and stated that the EU is ready in that regard.
