At the European Economic Congress in Katowice, Poland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Russian President Vladimir Putin yearns for the return of empires and autocratic regimes to Europe.
Speaking alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, von der Leyen reaffirmed her commitment to protecting the European Union and Ukraine. “Vladimir Putin’s war aims to redraw the map of Europe and is also an attack on our Union and the global rules-based system”she explained.
According to her, the Russian strongman only aspires to the re-establishment of empires and authoritarianism in Europe, and she warned that one should not misunderstand the latter’s objectives.
At the same time, the Russian president was sworn in for a fifth term, made possible by constitutional changes made in 2020.
Ms von der Leyen called on Europe to increase defense spending and invest in the European defense industry in the face of security threats arising from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“ Protecting Europe is a responsibility that falls to all of Europe”she explained, adding that effective security requires a strong economy.
If she is re-elected President of the Commission, she has promised defense projects of common European interest“in order to ensure that major projects can start and be designed, built and deployed on European soil”.
She also reiterated the idea of creating a post of European Defense Commissioner, indicating that she would open such a position if she were to be reappointed for a second term. The Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, is tipped as the favorite to exercise this function if the project were to materialize.
For his part, Donald Tusk declared that “If Europe had been better prepared and if European leaders had shown more imagination years ago, perhaps Russia would not have dared to attack our friend Ukraine. »
“Europe can and must avoid the conflict that has developed in recent years, particularly after the war in Ukraine. To do this, it must transform its economic success into better defense capabilities. […] In Poland, we not only understand this very well, but we are increasingly prepared”he insisted.
In fact, Poland spends almost 4% of its GDP on defense, the highest rate among NATO members. Donald Tusk also called on the EU to allocate at least 100 billion euros to common defense.
Welcoming the creation of the post of Defense Commissioner, the Prime Minister also called for effective defense of European skies. “Europe will be safe if there is a safe sky above it”he added.
