Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 12 June 2018 - Strasbourg

EU-NATO relations (debate)

  Lars Adaktusson (PPE). – Madam President, with developing instability around the world, EU cooperation on defence and security is a necessity. With this in mind, we should welcome increased European cohesion on research and development. Projects like Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund are really significant. At the same time, some EU representatives consider this the first step towards a common EU army. Therefore, let me stress that the EU is not a military alliance. The relevant and credible military structure of Europe is NATO. Since 1949 NATO has been an effective, powerful instrument for security, stability and peace. So let’s spend our time and our resources efficiently. Let’s not contribute to a parallel military structure in Europe.