Von der Leyen: NATO to set new 'historic' spending targets

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the NATO summit will set new "historic" spending targets for member states, underlining that "how we spend" is of equal importance as "how much we spend", Azernews reports.

In her speech at the opening session of the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum, Von der Leyen reflected on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and how "it has consumed more hardware than any other war." She pointed out that "battles have been won and lost because of software, jamming systems and AI," and added that "as we replenish our stocks, we must also modernise our legacy systems and cater for new technological needs."

Von Der Leyen stated that the "Europe of defence has finally awakened," and that the future of Europe is currently being written "not only at the frontline in Ukraine, but also in factories."