NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph that the creation of its own defense structures by the European Union would split Europe and weaken NATO, TASS reports.
“I welcome European defense efforts, but something like this can never replace NATO. It also needs to ensure that Europe and North America stick together. Any attempt to weaken the link between North America and Europe will not only weaken NATO, but also divide Europe”, he said.
Stoltenberg said that about 80% of NATO defense spending goes to non-EU countries. The Secretary General noted that any attempt “to create parallel structures, duplicate the command system will only weaken the overall potential for interaction.”
Earlier, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that during an informal meeting of EU defense ministers, which took place in Ljubljana on September 2, the issue of creating a new concept of defense and their own rapid reaction forces was discussed.
Borrell noted that a mixed military contingent is created every time for the EU humanitarian missions, however, according to him, the EU needs a permanent, well-coordinated common operational group.