EU needs NATO but must prepare to take greater responsibility for European defense: Commissioner
'Our doctrines, including foreign policy and defense ... are not fit anymore for today's situation,' Andrius Kubilius says
The European Union needs NATO to address security threats on its eastern flank, but Europe must prepare to assume greater responsibility for its own defense as the US shifts resources toward the Indo-Pacific, European Commissioner for Defense and Space Andrius Kubilius said on Thursday.
"It's very clear why we need NATO, because we have very clear threats on our eastern border: Russia and Belarus," Kubilius said at a conference hosted by the Friends of Europe think tank in Brussels.
He cautioned against assuming that the US will maintain its current level of military presence in Europe indefinitely.
Kubilius said Washington's strategic focus is increasingly being shaped by China's growing power and developments in the Indo-Pacific, which, he said, would require the US to shift resources away from Europe.
"That is why they are asking us to develop our capabilities and to be ready to take primary responsibility on the European continent, and they will stay with secondary responsibility," he said.
"My understanding is that we shall really see much less of Americans here on European continent. Not because they do not love us anymore, but because they need to shift to Indo-Pacific," he said.
Kubilius said the EU therefore needs to strengthen its defense capabilities both materially and institutionally.
"Our doctrines, including foreign policy and defense, our institutions, and our decision making, which were created during this time, are not fit anymore for today's situation," he said.
He said Europe needs stronger mechanisms for collective decision-making alongside increased military capabilities.
According to Kubilius, a future European Defense Union should bring together countries across the continent and include Ukraine and Canada.
Kubilius also proposed examining a smaller decision-making format, potentially modeled on the E5 Plus (The European Group of Five) concept, while allowing smaller countries to participate on a rotational basis.
