EU, NATO to deepen defense ties
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo — A Belgian sniper engages a target under the cover of darkness at the International Special Training Center’s Urban Sniper Course, June 3, 2021, Hohenfels Germany. (U.S. Army Photo by Warrant Officer Patrik Orcutt via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS))
By Lili Bayer (Reuters)
BRUSSELS - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that she agreed with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to work in the coming weeks to strengthen the European Union's relationship with the military alliance.
"We discussed the upcoming NATO Summit and how we can upscale defence industrial output in Europe," von der Leyen said in a post on social media platform X after meeting Rutte in Brussels.
"We need to invest more, to produce more and to do both faster. With the rise in global security threats, we agreed to work closely together in the next weeks to strengthen the EU-NATO relationship and prepare a successful Summit in Ankara," she added.
Rutte said in a post about his discussion with von der Leyen that "a stronger Europe means a stronger NATO".
(Reporting by Lili Bayer, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout // REUTERS // Headline revised by Paul Garraty (OAF Nation)
