EU leaders were discussing options for greater defence cooperation on the second day of a summit in Versailles on Friday, just over two weeks after Russia brought war to the European continent by invading Ukraine.
"I think everybody has agreed that things have changed since February 24," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said at the start of the talks, referring to the first day of the Russian attack.
EU leaders are meeting for a second day to take stock of the situation in Ukraine, consider the economic impacts for the bloc and debate options for further sanctions.
"We are discussing the urgency to spend more on defence - to cooperate better on defence," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
The summit was also a chance to make defence spending more efficient, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said.
"In the European Union, we spend more money on military expenditure than Russia. But we buy so many different things that we spend way too much money," Bettel said.
Bettel also cautioned against hasty efforts for more EU sanctions on Russia after Thursday's push from Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to ban Russian energy imports.
"Those who come with new sanctions are those who return tomorrow and say: 'We need more money,'" Bettel said.
Latvia's Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said on Friday before the talks "all options are still on the table."
Talks are also expected to focus on making the bloc's economy more self-sufficient and less reliant on materials from non-EU member states.
