UK and Germany: Europe must take responsibility for its own security

LONDON — Britain and Germany’s defense ministers said Europe must do more to ensure its own security, amid fears about the reliability of the United States ahead of November’s presidential election.

Speaking as they signed a new defense pact between London and Berlin, ministers John Healey of Britain and Boris Pistorius of Germany both talked up the importance of the continent playing a larger role in NATO.

“We have to do more, because the U.S. will shift their focus more to the Indo-Pacific for reasons we all know,” Pistorius said. “So it is a question of: Will they do much less in Europe because of that, or only a bit less?”

“But anyway, we would have to do more and this is our task,” he added.

“We can also set new standards as well as new innovation within the NATO alliance, doing what we both say — European nations taking more responsibility for the heavy lifting and the leadership within the NATO alliance,” Healey added.

The ministers signed the new defense pact Wednesday in London during Pistorius’ first official visit to London as minister for defense. Among other things, the agreement covers joint missile development, extra exercises in the Baltics and hosting rights for submarine-hunting planes in Scotland.

The deal was signed as the newly-elected Labour government in London tries to forge closer ties with major European allies — and as Europe nervously eyes the prospect of a second Donald Trump presidency.

Trump jolted European capitals when he said in February that he would “encourage” Russia to attack any NATO member country that doesn’t meet its financial obligations to the defense alliance. He later softened his rhetoric, but has refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win as it repels Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Healey traveled to Germany three weeks after Labour’s landslide general election victory in July for talks with his German counterpart. He pledged to quickly negotiate military and security pacts with European allies.

“When I was shadow defense secretary, before the general election, I had conversations with allies and partners and academics who said Britain needed to play a bigger part in NATO,” Healey said after signing the agreement Wednesday. “They said European allies needed to take on more responsibility for European security.”

“Today’s agreement also sends a signal to our adversaries. We will deter and we will defend against any oppression together,” he said.

Addressing the London press conference after Healey, Pistorius added that the new pact will “first and foremost give us one thing — more security in Europe.”