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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used her annual address to the European Parliament to propose creating a European Security Council bringing together EU leaders and partner countries including Ukraine, Canada, Norway, and the UK, alongside a threat-alert system independent of NATO. She also floated using remaining funds from the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme to create a joint scheme with Ukrainian companies. The SAFE funding remarks reportedly caught Poland and several other EU member states off guard, raising questions about coordination within the bloc on Ukraine-related security and defense initiatives.