Europe must have all the means to defend itself from military aggression. This was stated by the President of the European Council Antonio Costa, quoted by "Reuters".
He stressed that peace without defense is an illusion.
"If Russia considers that the borders of Ukraine are just a line on a map, why should it respect the borders of any other country?", Costa asked rhetorically at an event at the European Policy Center in Brussels.
The President of the Council called for strengthening the European pillar of NATO.
"It is now clear that the best way to defend our transatlantic alliance is to strengthen the European pillar of NATO, to become more autonomous, more sovereign, to be less dependent on others, namely on the United States," he stressed.
Europe is dramatically increasing defense spending due to concerns that the United States, which has guaranteed Europe's security since the end of World War II, is no longer they do not want to do so, but are shifting their attention to the Indo-Pacific region.