NATO Chief Refutes Idea of Europe Defending Itself Alone

(MENAFN) NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized on Monday the essential role of the United States in Europe’s defense, stating that Europe cannot protect itself alone against current security threats.

“If anyone thinks here that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US. Keep on dreaming. You can't. We can't. We need each other,” Rutte said during an address to the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on Security and Defense in Brussels.

He noted that the US also depends on NATO to maintain its own security, underlining the mutual reliance among NATO members.

“If you really want to go it alone, and those who you are pleading for that, forget that, you can never get there with 5%, it will be 10%. You have to build up your own nuclear capability that costs billions and billions of euros. You will lose, then, in that scenario, you would lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella. So, hey, good luck,” he added.

Rutte stressed the importance of close cooperation between NATO and the EU while recognizing their distinct strengths.

“The EU is great in resilience, but the EU is also great when it comes to regulation. And here, we need particularly deregulation,” he said.

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