European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the EU needs to turbo-charge defense-industrial capacity in the next five years amid rising global threats. Speaking at a defense and security conference in Brussels, she added that the focus will be on innovation.
"We will focus on innovation to ensure Europe has that edge in the new technologies, which we see being deployed across the world in different conflicts."
She also said that Iran's attack on Israel was the latest signal of intent of a "new league of authoritarians", mentioning Russia and North Korea as well.
Von der Leyen said that this "league" was working to tear up international rules-based order and to stretch democracies to a breaking point.
EU leaders are set to meet on Wednesday to discuss stepping up sanctions against Iran after Tehran's missile and drone attack on Israel. The bloc's 27 national leaders will hold a summit in Brussels as world powers try to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East.