European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen considers it necessary to build up the EU's defense capabilities through close cooperation with Ukraine and the use of its innovative potential in this area.
"We need to scale up our defense capabilities quickly, smartly, and effectively. …This is the reason why the European Union, for the first time, opened our Innovation Office in Kyiv to have direct contact with the Ukrainian industrial base. Secondly, we are encouraging our companies to enter into joint ventures with Ukrainian companies. And thirdly, as the European Union, we are working on a longer-term partnership to see how we can boost our cutting edge technology production in our defence industrial base, together with Ukraine," she said said during a speech in Ankara on Tuesday at the defense industry forum within the framework of the NATO summit.
She noted that the European Commission encourages European companies to set up joint ventures with Ukrainian companies.
According to her, the EU is working "on a long-term partnership to scale up the production of advanced technologies in the defense-industrial base together with Ukraine."
"We can learn a lot from Ukraine, and we have to learn a lot. Because not only are they highly innovative, but they are also battlefield-experienced," von der Leyen said.
