EU Commission chief says Türkiye one of NATO's 'largest' armed forces, plays 'important' role in alliance, EU ties

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday that Türkiye is one of NATO's largest military powers and plays an important role both within the alliance and in relations with the European Union.

Speaking at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum in Ankara during a panel discussion titled "The Capability Challenge: a NATO-EU Conversation" with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, von der Leyen highlighted the importance of deeper NATO-EU coordination, joint procurement and strengthening Europe's defense industrial base amid a changing security environment.

She stressed that EU member states and NATO allies largely rely on "one single set of forces" that can be assigned to NATO missions, EU operations, UN missions, or coalitions of willing partners.

She said interoperability between forces is essential and that the current geopolitical environment requires "a massive surge in defense investment."

Türkiye, she said, has a significant place in this framework.

"Türkiye is one of the largest armed forces within NATO, of very big importance, and has always played an important role in the alliance but also, of course, in our relationship with the European Union," von der Leyen said.

She added that there are opportunities for closer cooperation between Türkiye and European defense initiatives, including the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument, which provides financing for joint defense procurement.

Rutte said NATO and the EU have a clear division of responsibilities and can strengthen each other by working together.

"NATO is about command and control capabilities and standards," Rutte said, adding that the EU has a crucial role in areas including defense investment, military mobility, societal resilience and developing the defense industrial base.

Rutte said Europe must become a stronger partner within NATO and reduce overreliance on the United States.

"We cannot continue as we did, being over-reliant on the United States; we need this much stronger Europe in a stronger NATO," he said.

He said defense production is increasing in Europe, Canada and the United States, with more factories and production lines being opened, but added that further expansion is needed as Russia has placed its economy on a war footing.

He praised Türkiye's defense industry structure as an example of a broader national approach to security.

"Let me just give one example. Türkiye, how you have organized your defense industry with the Turkish Defense Industry Secretariat directly reporting to the president, you have about 3000 defense industrial companies working closely together: small, medium-sized, the bigger ones, basically exporting all over NATO territory, and of course producing for Türkiye itself and also exporting outside NATO," Rutte said.

"I think that's a model which is very interesting, and I know that some other allies are studying it to see whether they could implement it in their country," he added.