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President of the EC Ursula von der Leyen spoke yesterday at the Munich Security Conference, stating that “some may say that world independence runs counter to our transatlantic bond,” but adding that the opposite is true, because it was just heard from Rubio previously.
“An independent Europe is a strong Europe and a strong Europe makes for a stronger transatlantic alliance,” von der Leyen stated.
According to Von der Leyen, the time has come to bring Europe’s mutual defence clause to life: “Mutual defence is not an optional task for the European Union; it is an obligation under our own treaty, article 42,7 – and for good reason.”
Von der Leyen continued: “It is our collective commitment to stand by each other in the event of aggression – simply put, one for all and all for one.”
Turning to Sir Keir Starmer, von der Leyen said: “Ten years from Brexit, our futures are as bound as ever, dear Keir,” while adding that in essence, “each and every one of our policies needs a clear security dimension in this ‘new world order.’”
“As they say in Ukraine: you change or you die – we must adopt this mantra as well,” said von der Leyen: “We have all agreed to spend more – now we need to get the money out the door and turn it into real defence capabilities – some ask whether we can afford this, but I say we cannot afford to,” von der Leyen concluded.
