The announcement of US troop withdrawals from Germany overshadowed the start of the European Political Community (EPC) meeting on Monday, shifting the focus from a broad discussion on regional cooperation to the more urgent debate over Europe’s security dependence on the United States.
The meeting in Armenia’s capital marks the first occasion for European leaders to meet face-to-face following the White House’s sudden announcement.
Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative, said the timing of the announcement came as a “surprise,” though she said that the debate over the US presence in Europe was not new.
“It shows that we really need to strengthen the European pillar of NATO and that we need to do more,” she said, noting however that “the American troops are not in Europe only for protecting the European interests but also American interests.”
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen did not mention the US troops’ withdrawal but also called for greater European independence when it comes to defence.
“We have to step up our military capabilities to be able to defend ourselves,” she said, pointing to available funding and urging faster production of military capabilities.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters that “Europeans have now received the message” that there was “disappointment from the United States” over their response to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Rutte also said that “the allies are now making sure that all bilateral agreements on bases are implemented.”
During the weekend, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sought to play down the American announcement, telling ARD that “not everything we’ve been hearing over the last few days is actually new.”
“It might be a bit more exaggerated, but it’s nothing new,” he said.
The Italian government also sought to downplay concerns, stating that it sees “no immediate consequences” from the announcement. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will on Thursday visit Rome for a series of meetings at the Vatican. He is also expected also to meet Defence Minister Guido Crosetto.
The EPC summit also became an opportunity for key European and allied leaders to coordinate on Ukraine. Antonio Costa, European Council President, convened a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the gathering.
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Source:
www.euractiv.com
