EU needs political will to build defence policy, Commission chief says

The European Union's chief executive said on Wednesday that the bloc must be able to intervene militarily without the help of the United States but lacks the political will.

"The more fundamental issue is, why has this not worked in the past. You can have the most advanced forces in the world, but if you are never prepared to use them, what use are they? What has held us back until now is not just shortfalls of capacity it is a lack of political will," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Pledging increased cooperation with U.S-led NATO and new defences in cyberspace, von der Leyen said she would convene a special defence summit with France next year.