Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed over the phone the need to develop Europe's defense capabilities, a press release states on Friday.

A note published on the official website of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers indicates that the importance of strengthening the region’s defense industry and the ways to finance the necessary investments were also analyzed on Thursday during the phone contact between the two leaders.

According to the document, the defense issue will focus discussions at the informal summit of European Union (EU) leaders on February 3 at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where the regional response to the protectionist measures announced by US President Donald Trump will be also analyzed.

On January 21, Meloni discussed these issues in a telephone conference with European Council (EC) President Antonio Costa, where they agreed on the urgency of increasing European security by consolidating political, economic, and defensive unity.

Analysts assess that while Trump prepares his trade war against Europe with a significant rise in tariffs, the EU is organizing itself to defend its economic, commercial, and security interests, with actions aimed at increasing its strategic autonomy in a world marked by accelerated changes in geopolitical dynamics.