The president of the European Commission's comments come as she is expected to appoint a commissioner for defence.
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Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that Central Europe will play a crucial role in the push for a European defence sector ahead of the expected appointment of a European Commissioner for Defence.
"Protecting Europe is first and foremost Europe’s duty. And while NATO must remain the centre of our collective defence, we need a much stronger European pillar," she told the international security conference GLOBESEC in Prague on Friday.
"We Europeans must be on guard," she added. "We must think about our Union as intrinsically a security project."
Around 2,000 guests from more than 70 countries, including several heads of state and government as well as defence and foreign ministers, are taking part in the conference, which is being held under the theme of “How to calm the storm”.
Von der Leyen previously outlined plans to appoint a fully-fledged EU Commissioner for Defence during her second term as head of the commission.
Whoever is ultimately appointed will have the difficult task of uniting a defence sector whose growth has been spluttering.
Many argue this is the only way to build up the EU’s fledgling defence industry and keep Europe secure as the war in Ukraine continues, with the future of US military support for the Ukrainian war effort in doubt.
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