Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the European Defence and Security Summit

European Commission -Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Lahbib at the European Defence and Security Summit Brussels, 11 June 2025 Europe was built on the promise: never again. Never again war between neighbours. Never again a continent torn apart. For decades, that promise held. But today, peace is no longer a given. War is back. Threats are rising. And the world around us is more unpredictable than ever. The threats don't just come from military battlefields. Today the battlefields are also our phones, computers, social networks, power plants, financial institutions, supply chains, and our critical raw materials. These are the battlefields of the 21st century, and they threaten our democracies and our European way of life. Meanwhile, climate change continues to turbocharge disasters here at home and across the planet. Europe must therefore do more than just stand for peace, stability, and prosperity. We must be ready to defend it. European defence and security does not start when the bombs fall or the bullets fly. It starts long before that — with strong, prepared societies. That is what we are doing right now in the European Union — we are reinforcing our preparedness. In March, we launched our new EU Preparedness Strategy. This Strategy is part of a broader approach to keeping our continent safe – together with our Readiness 2030 plan and ProtectEU, our Internal Security Strategy. It is concrete, comprehensive, and operational, taking an...