Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday directly challenged the head of the NATO military alliance who suggested Europe can “keep on dreaming” about becoming more independent when it comes to guaranteeing its own security.
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Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, the head of the European Commission said the security picture on the continent is far more nuanced and called on European leaders to instill momentum to mutual defense commitments among EU nations.
“I believe the time has come to bring Europe’s mutual defense clause to life,” she said on Saturday. “Mutual defense is not optional for the UE, it is an obligation.”
While most EU countries are also NATO allies, the world’s biggest defensive security alliance, the bloc’s founding treaties also include a mutual defense clause under Article 42.7 which until now had remained elusive. Since the return of President Donald Trump, there has been a push to define in specific terms what European mutual defense means.
Von der Leyen also referred to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s remarks that Europe is not in a position to guarantee its security alone at this point.
“My dear friend, there is not only status quo going on or division and disruption. There’s a lot in between and status quo is not satisfactory, neither for us nor the US,” the European Commission president said following her speech at the Munich Security Conference.
“Let’s develop our strength without constantly leaning on someone else,” she added.
Late last month, Rutte sparked outrage when he told European lawmakers that “if anyone thinks here, again, that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t. We need each other.”
The NATO chief argued that European nations would have to spend 10% of their GDP, rather than the current goal of 5%, to make up for the loss of Washington’s backing.
“You’d have to build up your own nuclear capability. That costs billions and billions of euros,” he said. “In that scenario, you would lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella. So, hey, good luck!”
In her address at the conference on Saturday, von der Leyen discussed Europe is “delivering” when it comes to defense, with spending up nearly 80% since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine. But Europe must go beyond just spending, the Commission chief said, and “no taboo can go unchallenged”.
“This commitment only carries weight if it is built on trust and capability,” she said, referring to Article 42.7 in force since 2009.
The clause states that “if an EU country is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other EU countries have an obligation to aid and assist it by all means in their power”.
Article 42.7 has only been triggered once in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 but it is generally seen as weaker than the collective defense clause of NATO.
Under NATO commitments, if one ally is attacked, the rest would come to its defense including the United States. Some 23 of the EU’s 27 members also belong to NATO.
The EU ‘will not flinch’ on its digital rules
The head of the EU executive also stressed that in order to truly be ready to be in a position to defend itself, the EU “must make decisions faster”.
“And this may mean relying on the result of a qualified majority rather than inanimity. We do not need to change the Treaty for this. We need to use the one we have.”
She also called for the bloc to be “creative”, particularly through partnership with other partners, citing the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force and the Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine.
“What we need to do now, is formalize the ad hoc beginnings of new security collaborations. This starts by working of course with our closest partners, like the UK, Norway, Iceland or Canada,” she said.
“We want to increase our offer to many of these vital partners. This means, in this acutely volatile time, Europe and in particular the UK should come closer together – on security, on economy or on defending our democracies.”
The British Prime Minister, who took part in the discussion with von der Leyen, echoed that message, saying the UK needs to restart its relationship with the EU a decade on from the UK’s referendum as a matter of “urgency” in the context of the Ukraine war.
“This is of some urgency, because I think that on defense and security, until the Ukraine conflict we didn’t really wake up to the reality that we’re facing,” Keir Starmer said.
Europe as a whole “hasn’t done enough” for its defense and “must seize this moment” to strengthen itself. “We want to more with the EU even more closely in light of the challenge” they face, he also said.
Beyond defense, von der Leyen said Europe will have to become independent across the board, from energy to technology. “There is no other choice,” she warned.
“The European way of life – our democratic foundation and the trust of our citizens – is being challenged in new ways.
“On everything from territories to tariffs or tech regulations,” she added in a thinly veiled reference to the US, which has wielded the threats of tariffs on partners to secure preferential access and has described the EU’s digital rules as an assault on free speech.
“I want to be very clear: our digital sovereignty is our digital sovereignty” and the EU “will not flinch where this is concerned,” she said.