Von der Leyen pushes for EU ‘defense union’

The European Commission chief has hailed the bloc’s “historic” rearmament plan

The EU should work towards establishing its own “defense union” instead of continuing to rely on the US, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. 

“We have clearly entered a new era of harsh geostrategic competition,” von der Leyen said during a press conference in Brussels on Sunday marking the first 100 days of her second five-year term.

“We see that sovereignty, but also ironclad commitments, are called into question. Everything has become transactional,” she added.

Von der Leyen touted the recently unveiled plan to raise €800 billion ($868 billion) as a “historic” step in strengthening the EU’s military. “This can be the foundation of a European defense union,” she said, adding that the bloc could “team up with other like-minded countries, such as the UK or Norway or Canada.”

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The president added that the European Commission would soon release a white paper analyzing “threat scenarios” and proposing actions to address them. 

US President Donald Trump has long insisted that America’s allies in Europe should increase their defense spending. He angered many EU member states by blaming Ukraine for the hostilities with Russia and suspending military aid to Kiev. 

Trump’s sharp departure from the previous administration’s policies of unconditionally backing Ukraine has prompted the EU to rethink their defense arrangements.

French President Emmanuel Macron has recently branded Russia “a threat to Europe,” suggesting that France’s nuclear arsenal could be used to protect other EU member states. Moscow has described his comments as “highly confrontational.”