Ursula von der Leyen made boosting the European Union¡¯s defense capability a key focus of her bid for a second mandate to lead its executive arm, as the bloc struggles with challenges from Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine to the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House.
The head of the European Commission, 65, who won the unanimous endorsement of her center-right CDU party at a meeting in Berlin on Monday, outlined priorities including the defense sector and curbs on undocumented immigration into the EU.
¡°We need to put the migration pact into practice and strengthen Europe¡¯s external borders together,¡± von der Leyen told her party. ¡°And we must expand Europe¡¯s defense capabilities. And here I am thinking above all of the industrial base.¡±
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