Europe must strengthen its defense capabilities and switch to a “war economy” regime in response to the threat from Russia, European Council President Charles Michel said on Monday, Reuters quoted.

In comments published in European newspapers and on the Euractiv website, Michel, who will chair a meeting of EU leaders on Thursday to discuss support for Ukraine, said Europe must take responsibility for its own security and it does not rely heavily on the support of such countries like the USA.

“If we don’t have a proper response from the EU and we don’t give Ukraine enough support to stop Russia, we will be next. Therefore, we must be ready for defense and move to the “war economy” regime, Michel said.

“If we want peace, we must prepare for war,” he added.

Michel said that while Europe had taken steps ahead of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, including a 50% increase in military production capacity, much more was needed because Europe had underinvested in its security and defense for decades.

Michel called on EU countries to ensure that Ukraine gets what it needs on the battlefield, including spending EU money on military equipment and using excess profits from Russian fixed assets to buy weapons for Ukraine.

Michel urged countries to promote defense investment, including by considering changing the powers of the European Investment Bank, the EU’s lending institution, to allow it to support Europe’s defense industry.