The EP called for the creation of an independent European defense policy

The head of one of the factions of the European Parliament (EP) of the European People's Party (EPP) Manfred Weber after the meeting of the President USA Donald Trump with the Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky at the White House called for taking the first steps towards an independent European defense policy. This was reported on March 2 by Politico.

"Europe is on its own, and now we must arm ourselves on our own. We also need to take the first steps towards creating a European army," Weber said.

As the newspaper notes, European leaders fear that the change in priorities of the United States may leave Leave Ukraine vulnerable and weaken NATO's strategic position on the continent.

The EPP head also criticized the dependence of European countries on American weapons and stressed the importance of strengthening the defense industry.

"If the United States is no longer a reliable partner, why are we still buying weapons from them?" said Weber.

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The day before, Newsweek magazine reported that European countries extremely weak militarily and dependent on the United States. On February 19, the European Parliament factions noted that the European Union (EU) can no longer rely on the United States to protect their common interests, and it's time for them to take their own defense and security into their own hands.

On the same day, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that Europe should href="https://iz.ru/1841993/2025-02-20/premer-chekhii-fiala-vystupil-za-uvelichenie-evropeiskikh-investitcii-v-oboronu">" put "money on the table" and invest more in defense if countries want to be taken seriously.