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EU Commission President von der Leyen: “Investing in a European way”
Photo: Ian Langsdon / AFP
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to use the EU states' growing investments in weapons, ammunition and soldiers to build a new European defense industry. »We have to invest more, we have to invest better and we have to invest in Europe. That's why we as the Commission will be presenting a strategy for the European defense industry next month," said the CDU politician on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Von der Leyen emphasized that “investing in Europe” means telling taxpayers in Europe that the billions for the defense industry will be invested in such a way that “good jobs will also be created here in Europe.” It is important to her to coordinate these investments in close coordination with NATO.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, von der Leyen said that the democracies are still called upon to stick together with all their might. The significance of the Ukraine war goes far beyond the country and Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempt to wipe Ukraine off the map. Russia is also trying to undermine all other democracies. This was also shown, among other things, by the constant cyber attacks and the targeted disinformation from Moscow. “The autocrats are watching closely how we react,” said von der Leyen.
aeh/dpa