The chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, urged European leaders to move from rhetoric to concrete action on defense, calling for clearer plans to strengthen the continent's security architecture amid growing global uncertainty.
In his closing remarks at the three-day meeting, Ischinger said on Sunday that "Europeans are making progress on defense" and that countries are ready to shoulder a greater share of the security burden.
However, he stressed that speeches are not enough, foreign media write, reports Telegraph.
"What we need now is a plan, it is action," he said, urging EU members to increase defense production and clarify how they will strengthen collective security mechanisms.
He said the talks also revealed deep divisions over the state of the international order, showing doubts about whether Western countries still share the same values and play by the same rules.
"At the beginning of the conference, I referred to our Munich Security Report, which says that our international system is in disarray," he said, noting that some leaders argued that the system may already be beyond repair, while others called for "renewal and restoration."
"This shows the spectrum of views about where we are, whether in repair, restoration, or in accepting the fact that maybe we might have to rebuild something practically from scratch," Ischinger said.
Addressing Ukraine, he called for the provision of more weapons, especially air defense systems, and the coordination of tougher sanctions against Russia.
"The question of how this war will end is actually an existential question for Europe," he said. "It will determine, in more ways than one, the future of this continent."
"I very much hope that we, as allies and partners, are united and determined to act together to ensure that Ukraine can and will prevail," he said. /Telegraph/
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