US President Donald Trump is "right" to claim that the European Union is not spending enough on defence, the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kalas, said, adding that the US is the EU's "strongest ally" and should remain so.
"We spend billions on our schools, our health systems and our social protection. But if we don't spend more on defence, all that will be at risk," she warned, as quoted by AFP.
"Last year, member states as a whole spent on average 1.9% of their GDP on defence. Russia spends 9%," she insisted, expressing her belief that the bloc could do more to help Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
For Kaya Kalas, there is an urgent need for investment from member states and the private sector, but also from the European budget.
"Europe's failure to invest in its military capacity also sends a dangerous signal to the aggressor," she insisted.
The head of European diplomacy also stressed that if Russia has friends, the EU has "more", highlighting the strength of the alliance with the US and calling for a new security agreement with the UK, "a key partner of the EU".
"We need a mutually beneficial security and defence relationship" with London, she told a conference in Brussels.
"A new agreement on this would be the next logical step," Kallas concluded. | BGNES
