The European Union will create a new defense and space branch to finance, develop and deploy the armed forces, said the new head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Reuters reported. 

The creation of a defense branch in the European Commission, which the UK has resisted for a long time, is an attempt by Ursula von der Leyen to stop the weakening of EU influence, as he is faced with strong US pressure, which requires Europe to take more measures to ensure its own security.

“The European Union will never be a military alliance,” von der Leyen said. “But the European Union member states have been told many times ... that common procurement for their armed forces is of utmost importance,” she told a news conference.

According to her, this plan will benefit the NATO alliance led by the US, which includes many EU states. “NATO will always be (our) collective defence.”

The defense unit will be based on the EU military pact, signed at the end of 2017, to integrate defense forces by developing new weapons and facilitating rapid deployment.

Space is also becoming an area where the EU wants to jointly develop technology, especially since China, Russia, and the US are developing space weapons that can shoot down enemy missiles and air defense systems or destroy satellites.