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NATO Commander Warns EU Defense Union Must Not Rival Alliance
(MENAFN) Any European Union defense structure must reinforce NATO rather than rival it, the alliance's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told the European Parliament on Monday.
Grynkewich told lawmakers he had held talks with "a number of European leaders" about the idea of a European defense union.
"Whatever it is that the EU does with its member states and how it structures, should not be in competition with NATO," he said. "It needs to be complementary to what NATO brings to the fight."
Building a second, separate structure would be "extremely costly" and could strain limited resources, he warned, noting that NATO already has a command structure and expertise in place.
The general also urged tighter EU-NATO cooperation on the defense industry and procurement. Initiatives that determine where military equipment is produced carry particular weight for American, Canadian, British, Norwegian and Turkish companies, he said.
He cautioned against rigid preferences based on where hardware originates, arguing that NATO must protect its technological edge.
"A focus on where something is made rather than how well it performs in combat, how well it performs on the battlefield, only benefits our adversaries," he said.
Grynkewich pointed to the defense industry forum at the NATO summit in Ankara, where hundreds of companies announced deals worth more than €50 billion (nearly $57 billion). The contracts include strategic airlift and high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, he said.
He said NATO and the EU are "exponentially stronger" when working together, because the bloc's financial and regulatory tools and the alliance's military requirements can complement each other.
"Therefore, we must choose pathways that deepen our cooperation, not constrain it," he said.
Grynkewich told lawmakers he had held talks with "a number of European leaders" about the idea of a European defense union.
"Whatever it is that the EU does with its member states and how it structures, should not be in competition with NATO," he said. "It needs to be complementary to what NATO brings to the fight."
Building a second, separate structure would be "extremely costly" and could strain limited resources, he warned, noting that NATO already has a command structure and expertise in place.
The general also urged tighter EU-NATO cooperation on the defense industry and procurement. Initiatives that determine where military equipment is produced carry particular weight for American, Canadian, British, Norwegian and Turkish companies, he said.
He cautioned against rigid preferences based on where hardware originates, arguing that NATO must protect its technological edge.
"A focus on where something is made rather than how well it performs in combat, how well it performs on the battlefield, only benefits our adversaries," he said.
Grynkewich pointed to the defense industry forum at the NATO summit in Ankara, where hundreds of companies announced deals worth more than €50 billion (nearly $57 billion). The contracts include strategic airlift and high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, he said.
He said NATO and the EU are "exponentially stronger" when working together, because the bloc's financial and regulatory tools and the alliance's military requirements can complement each other.
"Therefore, we must choose pathways that deepen our cooperation, not constrain it," he said.
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