Speech by President von der Leyen at the opening session of the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum
European Commission
Speech
Jun 24, 2025
The Hague
"Check against delivery"
Secretary-General, dear Mark,
Minister Brekelmans,
Thank you first of all for bringing us together here in the Hague.
Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear representatives of the defence industry,
I am so grateful for this opportunity to exchange with you, because the future of Europe is being written not only at the frontline in Ukraine but also in your factories. In record time, you have managed to open new lines and step up production. You are adapting to the new reality of a full-scale war right here, on European soil. Just like your industry, all of Europe is facing a changing international landscape. The security architecture that we relied on for decades can no longer be taken for granted. It is a once-in-a-generation tectonic shift. But in recent months, Europe has taken action that seemed unthinkable until just last year. We set up the ReArm Europe Plan, to mobilise EUR 650 billion in defence investment over the next four years. In just 4 months, we created a new financial instrument called SAFE, with EUR 150 billion in loans for joint defence procurement. So overall as you said, Readiness 2030 is EUR 800 billion over the next 4 years to be invested in defence. Last week, we proposed a simplification omnibus, to radically speed up our defence investment. And we signed eight Defence and Security Partnerships with countries across the world - the latest of them with Canada yesterday. The Europe of defence has finally awakened.
Tomorrow, this Summit will set historic new spending targets for NATO allies. But how we invest is just as important as how much we invest. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has changed warfare. On the one hand, it has consumed more hardware than any other war. On the other hand, battles have been won and lost because of software, jamming systems and AI. As we replenish our stocks, we must also modernise our legacy systems and cater for new technological needs. This is vital for credible deterrence, and the European Union has an important role to play here. While NATO sets the standards and the capability targets for allies, our Union can help connect the dots between different industries, between civilian and military, and between NATO and non-NATO countries.
Let me set out three examples where I think our Union's contribution is essential. First, we can help bridge the gap between primes and start-ups. The war in Ukraine has shown just how important this is. Tech start-ups can offer countless solutions to challenges that emerge on the battlefield. This is why we have set up a Defence Innovation Office in Kyiv. We want to learn from Ukraine's battlefield experience. But innovative start-ups inside our Union can also play a crucial role. Since the start of the war, investment in European defence tech start-ups has increased by 500%. But we still lack funding in the critical stage, from the start-up to the scale-up, we must get better at this. Our start-ups must be able to grow and to grow here in the European Single Market. We need to identify potential unicorns proactively, and channel more capital towards them, from both public and private investors. Our continent is home to so many innovators and pioneers. They must be able to find what they need to thrive, right here in Europe.
Second, we must build more bridges between civilian and military. Many critical components of 21st-century defence are dual-use: chips and cloud services, software, satellites and AI. Our defence industry needs seamless access to the high end of these vital technologies. But today, dual-use projects are often not allowed to run on civilian platforms. We are going to change this. We will allow dual-use projects to access our new AI Gigafactories, with their unparalleled computational power. And the same goes for our European Innovation Council Fund for start-ups. We will seek this kind of synergy across the board. We must better connect our tech industry to our defence industrial base.
Finally, today we are asking the defence industry to deliver at speed and scale. But we have to create the right conditions for this to happen. For instance, with our SAFE loans, we incentivise joint procurement and long-term contracts. This will give you the predictability you need to scale up production. And SAFE is not only open to our Union's Member States, but also to future members like Ukraine, and it is open to our Defence and Security Partners like the UK or Japan, like Norway or South Korea. And yesterday we signed the Security and Defence Partnership with Canada. We are also clarifying our rules for cross-border transfers of defence products and multinational industrial collaborations. This is the way to speed up and scale up, not in isolation, but together with our most trusted friends.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Know that Russia will be capable of testing our mutual defence commitments within the next five years. By 2030, Europe must have everything it needs for credible deterrence. This is what we call Readiness 2030. But this requires a new mind-set for all of us. We must be ready to leave our comfort zone. We need to explore new ways of doing things, bringing together tech and defence, civilian and military, in Europe and beyond. Together, we can deter everyone who seeks to do us harm. For a stronger NATO, and a stronger and safer Europe.
Thank you for this opportunity to engage with you, and long live Europe.
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