Europe must step up amid ‘new realities’ of US relationship, says EU foreign policy chief – Europe live

Kaja Kallas warns that shift in transatlantic system is ‘structural, not temporary’ and bloc must respond by raising defence spendingKallas also sent a warning shot to EU countries trying to occasionally obstruct the bloc’s policies, particularly on Russia, saying this must not be tolerated.“Let’s face it, Europe can be slow. Unanimity means we can not always act at the speed of relevance. Of course, there are policy differences among member states. This is all natural, but unanimity is also used by some as a bargaining tool. And it cannot be that one country’s veto defines the policy for others.”“Nato needs to become more European to maintain its strength, and for that Europe must act. For example, we need to ensure that our security and defence initiatives remain complementary to Nato.”“For this, the ball is also in Nato’s court. If you want to use EU instruments such as our budgetary and regulatory power to support and enable Nato, we have to know what these needs and targets are. The more information Nato provides, the better we can align here.”“In short, we need to sync our efforts together with Nato so as to complement each other and to demonstrate how distinct European pillar adds to value through more burden sharing and military strength on our continent.” Continue reading...