Polish President Says EU Must Keep Within NATO Bounds In Military Terms

Polish President Says EU Must Keep Within NATO Bounds in Military Terms

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Thursday that everything the European Union does militarily should take place within NATO

WARSAW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th March, 2019) Polish President Andrzej Duda said Thursday that everything the European Union does militarily should take place within NATO.

"It is important that EU-level action be complementary to NATO action. It is very important that all these actions, in which we are involved at the EU level, are consistent with the actions of the North Atlantic Alliance," Duda told a press conference.

He noted that the European Union was not interested in competition with NATO.

In November, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the European Union should have a "real European army," independent of the United States, to be able to defend itself. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has supported the idea, suggesting that this joint force could be a complement to NATO, while US President Donald Trump has criticized it.

In February, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the European Union's defense strategy should not compete with NATO.