(VOVWORLD) -NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has dismissed proposals for Europe to break away militarily from the US, arguing that Washington remains a dependable security partner with the EU.
 NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte (Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman) |
Rutte said Europe must take on greater responsibility for its own security, including higher defense spending, but he stressed that this should happen with the US rather than outside the transatlantic framework. The US, he said, will remain militarily engaged in Europe and committed to the alliance.
While many leaders agree that Europe must do more militarily, Rutte has warned against framing the effort as a decoupling from NATO. He said that most of the defense alliance’s economic and military power still lies outside the EU, above all in the US, making transatlantic cooperation indispensable.