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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Menelaos Hadjicostis

Leaders of France and Greece say the EU's defense splurge is no alternative to the NATO alliance

Greece France - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The European Union’s ongoing push to bolster its own defensive capabilities isn’t intended to spawn an alternative to the NATO alliance but to answer a long-standing U.S. call for the continent to take charge of its own security, the French president said Saturday.

Emmanuel Macron said Europe mustn’t act to weaken NATO, which connects the continent with its American ally. Instead, Europeans are now stepping up to meet Washington’s demand made over the past decade “sometimes nicely, sometimes less nicely” to take care of their own security.

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