Thank you for the invitation to speak with new defense players.

I want to intensify the dialogue with new defense companies and organize a round-table in June to see how we, as the Commission, can support you.

You are the future of defense.

The Commission, together with Member States and NATO, is enhancing our defense readiness.

Its unnecessary to repeat the threats we face.

The SAFE regulation and upcoming EDIP program will create new financial and development opportunities for our defense industry. An additional 800 billion euros will be invested in defense over the next 4 years. Opportunities for joint development and procurement will significantly increase, with flagship projects for 7 strategic domains being developed.

There are opportunities for ambitious industrial growth.

We must be ready for both current and future wars.

Our future wars will depend on innovation in defense. Startups and SMEs bring much innovation and ambition to defense development.

Conditions for the New Defense industry are not yet optimal in the EU.

Thats why we need a Red Carpet for New Defense program. I am grateful for your initiative and ready to collaborate.

Simplifying defense must create a new ecosystem.

The war of tomorrow is already being fought in Ukraine.

Two weeks ago, I was in Kyiv and saw the innovative power of the Ukrainian defense industry.

Ukraines experience with drone warfare shows the importance of innovation.

Ukrainian drone producers are united in the BRAVE1 platform.

If day X comes, countries like Lithuania must be ready with millions of drones per year.

We must collaborate with Ukraine to create a similar ecosystem.

The EU has important programs for innovation and SMEs in defense.

But the speed of decision-making in the EU is too slow.

We must be brave in changing our approach to defense.

Ukrainians learned how to create the BRAVE platform after the war.

To avoid war, we must learn the same.