European Commission chief calls for ‘turbocharge’ of EU defenses over next 5 years

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – The EU will create a defense commissioner and “turbocharge” its defenses over the next five years, the bloc's said on Tuesday.

“We need to turbocharge our defense industry over the next five years. Europe must spend more, better and in a European way,” Ursula von der Leyen said in Katowice, Poland as she presented with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk a "plan for Europe."

“I came to Poland to announce that I want to build a coalition for a strong Europe with Donald Tusk and the [his party] Civic Platform. A coalition that will make the center oppose extremes and make Europe stronger, more prosperous and safer,” the head of the European Commission told Polish press agency PAP.

She also announced the appointment of a new commissioner for defense, speaking at the European Economic Congress.

“The elections to the European Parliament will be about standing up to enemies" ... about "confronting the enemies who await us from the outside, but also about stopping the puppets from the inside. It is about our democracy, security and prosperity in increasingly unstable times,” she said. The European Parliament elections will take place on June 6-9.

“War has been declared in Eastern Europe by the authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin, and the key element to address the danger is the European Union and the unity of the continent,” Von der Leyen said.

“The armaments race begins again and Europe cannot be left behind. The first task is the urgent need to expand and transform Europe's armed forces - we strive to expand our operational capabilities."

She said the European Commission is investing in key economic sectors as part of NextGenerationEU program, and Poland may receive many billions of euros from it.

“Today, only a blind person or someone with bad will could pretend that everything is as before. History and politics have returned to us in this most physical, brutal and hard dimension," Tusk said. "Europe and the EU must become a safe place thanks to their own efforts, including armed ones.”

- Poland and the EU

The president of the European Commission said Poland has made the 27-member bloc "much stronger and more complete."

“This desire for freedom and democracy, the desire to shape our own future, lies deep in the Polish nation,” she said. “Poland is coming back."

“I know the government is working very hard to make sure all the milestones are met. All this improves the European economy,” she said.

Asked about EU's decision to close the Article 7 procedure against Poland, Von der Leyen said over the last few months the Commission had seen the work of the Polish government to restore rule of law in the country. “Poland's strong voice showed us that you are ready to strengthen democracy. This enabled the commission to propose closing the procedure under Article 7,” she said.

The special supervision began in 2017 after the previous nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government introduced judicial reforms which the EU’s top court found violated rule-of-law standards.