LONDON

The European Commission president on Friday pledged that the European Union will be ready within the decade to meet Russia’s "aggression" with far greater strength.

“By 2030 to have significantly strengthened our defense capabilities and to have closed the defense gaps that we have. And in parallel … we will contribute to make sure that Ukraine has ironclad security guarantees,” Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Latvia.

“Putin is a predator. Putin's proxies have been targeting our societies for years with hybrid attacks, with cyberattacks, the weaponizing of migrants.”

"The weaponizing of migrants is another example, and this is something unfortunately that Latvia knows only too well. You have a bitter experience in all these fields," she said.

“As we strengthen Ukraine's defense, we must also take greater responsibility for our own defense. And this is the logic of the 800 billion euro defense industrial plan that we have launched together,” von der Leyen added.

She stressed that eastern Europe’s security is decisive for the entire continent. “Europe is only safe if the eastern border is safe, and therefore the eastern border defense line is one of the most important flagships that has my full support.”

The EU’s new joint procurement instrument, SAFE, von der Leyen said, has already secured full participation. “Safe is a joint procurement instrument of €150 billion … and I’m pleased to announce that we have reached full subscription of the whole €150 billion.”

As many as 19 member states, including Latvia, have requested support via our SAFE Defense instrument, she said.

The European Commission president pointed to sweeping budget priorities designed to prepare Europe for long-term confrontation. “We have a five-fold increase in defense spending … a ten-fold increase in military mobility … and we have tripled the proposal for migration and border strengthening.”

SAFE is a new EU financial tool established under the ReArm Europe / Readiness 2030 initiative. It provides up to €150 billion in long-term, competitively priced loans to EU member states to invest in joint defense procurement.