Ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honor to be here as Europes first Commissioner for Defense and Space.

This is my first official visit to Poland as Commissioner, at a time when Poland holds the EU Council Presidency and leads the EU. Security and defense are top priorities for both the presidency and the EU. Recently, the European Commission presented historic proposals to increase defense spending and production.

Warsaw is one of the first European capitals I visit to present these initiatives due to Polands strong leadership in defense.

A quote I like to use: “450 million EU citizens should not depend on 340 million Americans to defend us against 140 million Russians who cant defeat 38 million Ukrainians.”

This quote, inspired by Polish expert Zbigniew Pisarski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, shows that Europe as a whole must mobilize to fear no aggressor.

Poland sets the right example in defense. Poland spends 4.7% of its GDP on defense and plans to double its military. Other countries should follow Polands lead.

The White Paper on European defense emphasizes the need to defend Ukraine as part of European defense. Since the Russian invasion, we have supported Ukraine with 50 billion euros in military aid.

Implementing the White Paper will strengthen Europes defense, with a significant increase in defense spending and closing capability gaps.

The European Commission has presented initiatives to significantly increase defense spending and ramp up production.

Solidarity is our most important value, the foundation of the EU. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

Lets start a solidarity movement here in Poland to build up our defense industry.