Mr. Verhagen (Nl): “Europe must strengthen its defence”

(B2)After John Hutton, UK Defense Secretary, here is a new call in favor of Defense Europe. This time, it's the Netherlands, a country so far rather measured" in its enthusiasm for European defense. In an interview with Financieele Dagblad, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Verhagen believes that Europe "must strengthen its own defense",

Europe, the proof by Georgia. "In Georgia we put an end to the conflict through our political action. By very quickly deploying a control mission, we obtained the withdrawal of the Russians. Without the EU, Russia would not have done it."

Competition with NATO, the past. "Before, it was always assumed that European defense cooperation is in contradiction with NATO. This is completely outdated. Europe must be able to operate independently, without NATO taking the decision."

In the face of new threats, old alliances are no longer enough. “We have to take into account acts of terrorism, climate change, an arms race in space, waves of migrants, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Simultaneously, there are fundamental changes in the relations of power. China, India and Brazil are claiming their place. In Russia the old philosophy of power is reappearing. That is why we must not only invest in the old alliances, but also make full use of European cooperation."

The Americans are waiting for us. "I spoke at length with the advisers of the two candidates for the American presidency. Both will invest more in cooperation and they are ready to listen to Europe. At the same time, they expect a greater effort from us."

An army no, but more cooperation, yes, twice yes. "I don't want an autonomous European army, but much more cooperation. For example with the new fleet of (boeing) C-17 transport planes (a NATO pool). The EU has no separate budget for that and so we are cooperating to reduce costs."

(NGV)