Ursula Von Der Leyen: Ukraine's Example Is Inspiring

The politician explained what Europe has to learn.

Europe must be ready to act decisively and proactively with the use of force for its own defense. In this matter, it should learn from Ukraine's experience.

This was the thesis of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Munich Security Conference speaking. She also emphasized the need for a new European security strategy to guarantee Europe's ability to defend its territory, economy, democracy and way of life under all conditions.

The example of Ukraine is inspiring

"As they say in Ukraine: 'change or die'. We too must adopt this credo. We must break down the hard wall between the civilian and defense sectors. Europe is a powerful center of production of automobiles, aerospace equipment and heavy machinery. We should not consider these industries as purely commercial, but as the basis of the defense value chain," the politician stressed.

Another conclusion from the fighting in Ukraine, she said, is the need to actively develop dual-use technologies - in particular artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, drones and space development. Such an approach allows gaps in defense capabilities to be closed more quickly, because it is drones, which inflict about 80 percent of combat casualties on both sides, that have become a showcase for the importance of innovation and ramping up production.

In this context, von der Leyen also mentioned the establishment of the EU's Office for Defense Innovation in Kiev, which "combines European scale with Ukrainian speed and ingenuity."

"And with this approach, we can close gaps in our capabilities quickly. Some people ask if we can afford it. I say we cannot afford not to," the European Commission chief said.

She drew attention to the slowness of decision-making in Europe and said the EU should make greater use of the qualified majority mechanism instead of unanimity to prevent individual countries from blocking important decisions.

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