Brussels – EU: Europe must prepare to take more responsibility for its defence

BRUSSELS, October 2 /ATSH-AA/ – European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius has said the European Union (EU) needs NATO to respond to security threats on its eastern flank, but Europe must prepare to take more responsibility for its defence, while the US is shifting resources towards the Indo-Pacific region.

“It is very clear why we need NATO, because we have very clear threats on our eastern border, Russia and Belarus,” Kubilius said at a conference organised by the “Friends of Europe” think tank in Brussels.

He warned against assuming the US will indefinitely maintain the current level of its military presence in Europe. Kubilius said Washington’s strategic focus is increasingly being defined by China’s growing power and developments in the Indo-Pacific region, which, according to him, will require the US to shift resources away from Europe.

“Precisely for this reason they are asking us to develop our capacities and be ready to take the primary responsibility on the European continent while they will keep the secondary responsibility,” he said.

“I understand we will really see far fewer Americans here, on the European continent. Not because they no longer love us, but because they must move towards the Indo-Pacific,” he added.

Kubilius said that for this reason the EU must strengthen its defence capacities, both in material and institutional terms. “Our doctrines, including foreign and defence policy, our institutions and our decision-making processes, which were created during this period, are no longer suitable for today’s situation,” he said.

According to him, Europe needs stronger mechanisms for collective decision-making, alongside increasing military capacities. A future European Defence Union should bring together countries across the continent and include Ukraine and Canada, he said.

Kubilius proposed considering a smaller decision-making format, potentially modelled on the E5 Plus concept (European Group of Five), enabling smaller countries to take part on a rotating basis as well.