&w=3840&q=100)
‘Europe of defence has finally awakened' amid rising Russian threat, says Von der Leyen ahead of Nato summit
European Commission President von der Leyen on Tuesday declared that 'the Europe of defence has finally awakened,' as Nato allies prepare to set unprecedented spending targets in response to rising geopolitical threats read more
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, left, and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, greet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrives for the Nato defence forum on the sidelines of the Nato summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday. Reuters
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday declared that 'the Europe of defence has finally awakened,' as Nato allies prepare to set unprecedented spending targets in response to rising geopolitical threats, including Russia's military buildup.
Speaking ahead of the Nato summit, von der Leyen hailed what she called a historic moment, with member states poised to commit to raising defence spending to five per cent of GDP — a dramatic shift in military posture not seen since the Cold War.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'The future of Europe is being written on the frontline in Ukraine — but also in your factories,' The Guardian quoted von der Leyen as saying to European defence manufacturers.
'In record time, you have opened new production lines, stepped up output, and adapted to the reality of full-scale war on European soil,' she added.
Von der Leyen warned that Europe must be prepared for Russia to challenge Nato's mutual defence commitments by 2030.
'This is a once-in-a-generation tectonic shift,' she was quoted as saying.
'Europe must develop credible deterrence, and this will require a new mindset — ready to leave our comfort zones and embrace innovation across civil and military sectors,' she added.
The Commission president also emphasised the importance of streamlined defence procurement across EU states and candidate countries, while calling for deeper cooperation with key partners such as the UK.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte echoed the urgency, saying: 'If you want peace, prepare for war. Nato's military edge is being aggressively challenged by a rapidly rearming Russia, supported by Chinese tech and armed with Iranian and North Korean weapons.'
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Rutte warned it is 'unthinkable' that Russia — with an economy a fraction the size of Nato's — should be able to outproduce the alliance militarily.
'We must spend more to prevent war. We must win this new war of production,' he said. 'That's what this summit is all about.'
Rutte said European allies should not worry about the United States' commitment to Nato.
'There is total commitment by the US president and the US senior leadership to Nato,' Reuters quoted Rutte as telling a public forum before the formal opening of the summit.
He added, however, that such backing came with an expectation that European countries and Canada spend more on defence.
The two-day Nato summit is intended to signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Nato is united, despite US President Donald Trump's previous criticism of the alliance, and determined to expand and upgrade its defences to deter any attack from Moscow.
With inputs from agencies
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Big news you missed: Israel blows up gate to Iran's notorious Evin Prison to free Khamenei's critics
Israeli forces targeted Tehran's Evin Prison, notorious for housing political prisoners, with a missile strike aimed at breaching its metal gates. The attack, confirmed by the IDF, is part of a broader effort to strike at the Iranian regime's power centers. Concerns are mounting for the safety of inmates as tensions escalate between Israel and Iran. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads A Strike Against Iran's Most Feared Prison Viral Footage Shows Direct Missile Strike We warned Iran time and again: stop targeting civilians! They continued, including this morning. Our response: Viva la libertad, carajo!@JMilei undefined Gideon Saundefinedar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 23, 2025 Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Concerns for Prisoners' Safety Mount Benjamin Netanyahu Wants Iran To Rise Up Against the Regime Israel Confirms the Strike, Targets Regime's Power Centers Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs Israeli forces targeted the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran, blowing up the metal gates in what appears to be a bold attempt to free some of Iran's most outspoken critics of the regime, as per a report.A drone was used by Israel to attack the metal gates of the jail, which is notorious for shackling political prisoners, journalists and even Brits on bogus charges, as reported by The US READ: Aurora Borealis forecast: Northern Lights to light up skies in US this week - to be visible in these states today According to footage and videos seen by The US Sun, a missile was seen shooting directly into the gate, which sent the mangled pieces of metal flying. As per a Mint report, the video, which later went viral, was first released by Iran's IRIB state broadcaster, which showed rescue workers combing flattened wreckage of Evin prison and was carrying a wounded man on a READ: Military officials feared Trump would leak Iran strike — so they faked him out with decoy plans The Mint report cited a Mizan news outlet, which mentioned that Iran's judiciary has asked for urgent action to be taken to protect the health and safety of Evin Prison's inmates.A US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran expressed concern about the condition of prisoners there, saying, 'Many families of current detainees have expressed deep concern about the safety and condition of their loved ones held inside the prison,' as quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald READ: NYC Primary 2025: Who will win the NYC mayoral primary? Millions bet live on Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo in tight mayoral race This comes amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, while Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly urged for Iran's people to rise up against the regime, as per The US Sun attempt to burst open the jail might be a potential attempt to return anti-Ayatollah activists to the streets of Iran, according to the it is not known yet whether any inmates were able to escape because of the rocket blast, reported The US the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged the strike, saying, "Following orders from PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz, the IDF is striking regime and security targets in central Tehran — including the Basij HQ, Evin Prison, the 'Israel destruction clock', IRGC internal security HQs, and more," as quoted in the report.A drone launched a missile directly into the metal front gates of the prison, according to videos and Israeli military sources, as per the showed a missile slamming into the prison gate, an explosion, and later scenes of wounded being carried out by rescue teams, as per the report.
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Iran begins nuclear sites' repair as airstrikes only pushed it back by months. Read Trump's advice for Iran
Intelligence Report on Iran's Nuclear Program Iran Begins Repair of Nuclear Facilities Live Events Israel's Role in Broader Strikes IAEA Demands Access Trump's Advice to Iran Military Desertions in Iran FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The US military recently bombed Iran's main nuclear facilities. An early assessment suggests that the strikes did not destroy Iran's nuclear program. It may have only delayed the program for a few months, a report said.A US intelligence report said the strikes on Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan did not stop Iran's nuclear activity. The report was shared with CNN by three people who had access to the information. According to them, the bombings caused delays but did not destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected this report. She said the assessment shared with CNN was nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami confirmed that damage was being assessed. He said plans were already in place to fix the affected told Mehr News that Iran aims to continue its production and services without interruption. He did not say how long the repairs would take but noted that restoration work had and the US attacked three major nuclear sites in Iran. There is still uncertainty about whether Fordo was fully also say that Israel targeted other minor nuclear sites. Around 12 Iranian nuclear scientists were killed. The Israeli military also destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers and production June 13, Israel killed nine out of 13 top Iranian intelligence and military officials. Israel has now shifted focus to attacking the Revolutionary Guard and Basij militia International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to return to Iran for inspections. Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency needs to verify nuclear activity in confirmed that some inspectors stayed in Iran during the conflict. They are now ready to resume full work. He noted there was some radioactive and chemical damage at the bombed sites. However, no dangerous radiation was reported outside the President Donald Trump made comments about Iran's situation. Speaking to reporters, he said Iran would not develop nuclear weapons. He said Iran could focus on trade and use its oil resources for also posted on Truth Social. He said China could now buy oil from Iran and hoped China would also purchase oil from the US. Trump claimed he helped enable this news outlet Farda reported that some soldiers and officers did not follow orders after the attacks. Some have left their posts. Others have gone into response, Iran's Armed Forces General Staff issued warnings. They said anyone disobeying orders or leaving duty would face charges of treason. The military stated this would be considered a threat to national According to US intelligence, the bombings caused delays but did not destroy Iran's nuclear IAEA has requested access, but it is unclear if Iran has fully resumed cooperation after the recent attacks.
Economic Times
28 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Iran-Israel-US conflict: Missiles fired, bases hit, all sides claim victory but want to avoid full war
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Israel's air strikes Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What's Next? FAQs After a slew of bomb drops, missiles hitting bases and chest thumping, all sides in the US, Israel and Iran conflict are lapping up self- declared happens while simultaneously, there is sense among all to de- escalate sooner rather than later. A week of deadly fireworks in the Middle has hit a pause for now, with Iran's carefully calibrated attack—avoiding going too far in its response to destruction of its nuclear sites—on a US air base Al Udeid area in Supreme Leader Ayatollah had directed a hit back in response to the US bombing of its nuclear sites, but had asked for restraint in going 'too far'. They saw it as the command center for the bombers that hit them, according to the report by New York sent secret warnings before the attack. Qatar even closed its airspace to prepare.13 out of 14 Iranian missiles were shot down. No Americans died. The base had only minor damage. Trump even thanked Iran for the warning on Truth Social, saying he hopes there will be "no further HATE", as per TOI launched many airstrikes on Iranian military targets, damaging command centers and other key buildings. Iran admitted some serious damage on their Israel kept bombing even after a ceasefire deal was made, which upset Trump. He said, 'I'm not happy with Israel.' Israel looked powerful, but people started saying they were being too aggressive and causing instability, as per TOI U.S. started it by bombing 3 Iranian nuclear sites, a big military move by Trump. Then suddenly, Trump changed tone and started posting messages online telling Israeli jets to 'TURN AROUND.' He said this all was a 'strategic success': they hurt Iran's nukes, saved American lives, and didn't go into war, as stated in the report by U.S. says it stopped Iran's nuclear threat with no loss of life. Israel says it showed its military strength and hit Iran hard. Iran says it stood its ground and hit back at the U.S., even if lightly. Expert Ali Vaez said: 'Everyone is claiming victory, but no one wants a bigger fight.'In Iran, daily life is messed up, the economy is hurting more, and thousands have been displaced. Some Iranian leaders are saying they can't keep fighting like this. 'Our country doesn't have the capacity to continue this war,' said politician Sadegh Norouzi, according to the TOI foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is going on a tour to get support and avoid war. Araghchi said the strikes didn't really change anything big. People are now pushing for peace, but trust is low, and the conflict could restart anytime, as per TOI conflict began after the US bombed Iranian nuclear Iran targeted the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
