European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was ready to take further steps to ensure Europe’s economic security, in a speech to EU lawmakers on Wednesday.

“A crisis in the supply of critical raw materials is no longer a distant risk, it is on our doorstep,” von der Leyen told a European Parliament plenary session in the French city of Strasbourg.

“I will be ready to propose further measures to ensure Europe’s economic security,” she pledged.

“We should be very clear also in the determination that no country should hold the ability to undermine our economic security,” she stated.

Despite previous efforts to reduce dependencies, the European Union continues to heavily rely on imports of critical raw materials and key technologies.

This includes materials for the manufacture of microchips, wind turbines and batteries. The EU is heavily dependent on individual countries for core technologies, with China being a major supplier.

“We have already taken important steps, but now we must accelerate decisively and urgently. We need [a] faster, more reliable supply of critical raw materials,” von der Leyen said.

“Europe must be in control of strategic clean technologies and manufacturing”, she added.

“Clean tech is not just a tool for cutting emissions. It is key to our competitiveness and key to the independence of the European Union, and we really have to fight for it.”