Europe and US need each other, Nato chief says
By Laura Gozzi
Europe and the US need each other and are “stronger together”, the secretary-general of Nato has said.
Jens Stoltenberg was speaking at a ceremony marking the alliance’s 75th anniversary.
While the US provided Europe with security, he said it also needed the militaries, intelligence and diplomatic leverage of its European allies.
“I don’t believe in America alone just as I don’t believe in Europe alone,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
“I believe in America and Europe together in Nato, because we are stronger and safer together.”
The Nato chief’s remarks came as the alliance considered a €100bn (£86bn) five-year fund to provide long-term military support for Ukraine, so aid to Kyiv is not jeopardised by political changes either in the US or other Nato states.
A US package worth $60bn (£47bn) has been stalled in Congress for months because of resistance from Republican lawmakers, as well as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has spoken of ending the war “in one day”.
During his speech, Mr Stoltenberg said Nato must be “doing something right”, as it had grown from 12 countries at its inception to 32. Its newest members Sweden and Finland abandoned their neutrality and joined the alliance as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
