The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, said this Tuesday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that "NATO cannot continue to be credible unless the European members increase their military credibility".
During a meeting organised by the New Economy Forum in the EU capital, Josep Borrell considered that European citizens must understand that "the American umbrella that protected us during the Cold War and afterwards may not be open all the time".
One of the keys, he said, will be whoever wins the White House in the next US elections on 5 November, but he added that we cannot wait to see what the Americans decide, nor can we rely on Washington's capabilities for European protection. "We have to build our common capacity," he stressed.
In response to those who fear that increasing the EU's defence capabilities means a disengagement from NATO, Borrell argued that this disengagement is happening "because of an unwillingness on the other side of the Atlantic to maintain the commitment to defend all NATO members in all circumstances".
For the High Representative, "NATO cannot remain credible unless European members increase their military credibility", and he argued that this is one of the lessons the EU-27 can learn from the conflict in Ukraine.
He noted that the US redirected its security strategy to the Pacific and now has to return to Europe because of the war in Ukraine, but its main focus remains the Pacific. Therefore, he said, "a more balanced partnership between the United States and Europe is needed for each side to strengthen the unity, the basis of the Alliance".
