Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that Central Europe will play a crucial role in the push for a European defence sector ahead of the expected appointment of a European Commissioner for Defence. 

“Protecting Europe is first and foremost Europe’s duty. And while NATO must remain the centre of our collective defence, we need a much stronger European pillar,” she told the international security conference GLOBESEC which began in Prague on Friday.

“We Europeans must be on guard … We must think about our Union as intrinsically a security project,” she added. 

Around 2,000 guests from more than 70 countries, including several heads of state and government as well as defence and foreign ministers, are taking part.  

The theme of the event was set out as “How to calm the storm.” 

Von der Leyen has previously outlined plans to appoint a fully-fledged EU Commissioner for Defence when she takes the helm of the Commission for her second term. 

Whoever that is will have a difficult task in uniting an industry whose growth has long been splintered and spluttering. 

Many argue this is the only way to build up the EU’s fledgling industry and keep Europe secure as the war in Ukraine continues – and US support potentially falters. 

Euronews