European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on European Union (EU) member states to take their mutual defense commitments seriously in her speech at the 62nd Munich Security Conference.

Axar.az reports that she stated that the mutual assistance clause (Article 42, paragraph 7) in the EU Treaty is not an option, but a legal obligation.

Leyen stressed that the principle of “all for one, one for all” only makes sense if there is trust and real military capabilities.

She noted the importance of making this clause operational in order to reduce the EU’s dependence on the US in the field of security.

The EC President also proposed the development of a new European security strategy:

“Europe must not only use military power, but also tools such as trade, finance, technology, data, critical infrastructure, and information together.”