European People's Party (EPP) President Manfred Weber said that Europe needs to step up its collective defence following the news that Russia allegedly jammed the GPS system of a plane carrying European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen.
In an interview with Euronews Romania, Weber said that "if someone like Putin is becoming aggressive, is becoming brutal, takes our way of life into question, then we have to stand up and defend ourselves."
"It's obvious that Putin continues the attacks against all of us," he added, also turning towards the rise of the far-right in Europe, saying "all populists and extremists in Europe, Germany, AfD, here in Romania, those who are close to Russia must understand that this approach will not work."
Weber said it is clear that "the European Commission, Council and so on," are a "point of target for the Russian attacks. And that's why we have to strengthen protecting our institutions on the European level."
He pointed to the need for Europe to "build up a European pillar of defence," adding that it's not just up to frontline countries like Romania, Poland and the Baltics to invest in defence, but all of Europe.
The €150 billion loan instrument to boost defence production, known as SAFE, is "enabling the member states to do common projects, not only national investments, but joint projects."
Von der Leyen is currently on a four-day tour of EU member states that border Russia and Belarus, aimed at expressing solidarity and promoting the European Union's €800-billion plan to ramp up defence spending.
