Thank you, Diego Rodriguez, for your hospitality and organizing this important discussion.

Thank you, Nicolás Pascual de la Parte, for your kind introduction.

Nicolás, as a member of the European Parliaments Security and Defence Committee, you understand the importance of defense for Europe.

We are here today because we are concerned about the international situation and our defense. Russia is rapidly expanding its military capacity, and the threat is real.

We need leaders to move Europe from concern to action. The Commission is working hard on defense proposals to scale up our spending and production.

• The White Paper on European Defence Readiness 2030
• SAFE loans backed by the EU budget and greater fiscal flexibility for Member States.

The six basic principles of the White Paper are: deterrence, cooperation with NATO, a strong European defense industry, European responsibility, autonomy of action, and solidarity.

We must strategically cooperate, increase our industrial capacity, and encourage investments to build a strong European defense.

The Commission proposes to mobilize an additional 800 billion euros for defense over the next four years.

With SAFE loans and additional investments, Member States can strengthen their defense without fiscal constraints.

European defense is our collective responsibility, and we must act now to ensure peace and security.