NATO’s Rutte Cautions EU Against Breaking from Washington on Defense
Rutte's remarks came in response to Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party (EPP)—the European Parliament's dominant faction—who advocated transforming the EU into a "European NATO" in late November. Friday saw Weber pressing Brussels to "act confidently" and "write [its] own security strategy."
"We must stop shaping our policy out of Washington papers," the German politician said. Questioned whether he endorsed this perspective, the NATO chief cautioned that "there's more than the EU" when it comes to NATO.
EU members within the US-led alliance represent merely a quarter of its aggregate economic capacity, he noted. Washington has "one big expectation" of its European NATO partners, which is "us spending more, Europe taking more responsibility," Rutte maintained.
US President Donald Trump drove NATO members toward pledging 5% of their GDP for annual military expenditures by 2035 during a June summit in The Hague. The initiative drew resistance from several nations, including Slovakia and Spain. Madrid emerged as the strongest dissenter against the escalation, dismissing it as "absolutely impossible," which prompted Trump to threaten tariff retaliation over noncompliance.
Brussels and Washington also appear divided on Ukraine crisis management. In November, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban alleged the EU was obstructing US peace initiatives and "plotting war." Earlier that month, the New York Times revealed Washington had warned Kiev's European supporters against prolonging the confrontation, referencing mounting escalation dangers.
Moscow contends the hostilities constitute a NATO proxy conflict triggered by the alliance's persistent eastward expansion. Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin stated during a Q&A that Russia harbors no desire to confront the bloc provided its interests receive recognition.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
