Rutte rejects EU's departure from NATO on defence
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte rejected the idea that the European Union should militarily disengage from the United States. In an interview with the German news agency DPA, he stressed that the US remains a key and reliable partner of the alliance, Politico reports.
Although Europe needs to invest more in its own defence, he said, it should do so in cooperation with Washington. Rutte was responding to Manfred Weber of the European People's Party, who called for greater strategic autonomy for the EU in the context of political uncertainty in the US.
Weber also questioned whether the US could be relied upon in all circumstances and suggested that in future European troops should operate under their own flag, for example in Ukraine.
Rutte, however, warned against force-sharing and pointed out that most of NATO's military capacity is located outside the EU, which makes transatlantic cooperation a necessity.
The debate on Europe's defence direction continues and the differences of opinion between leaders are becoming increasingly clear.
(pir)