'We have to close defence gaps urgently': EU Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee chief McAllister

2 days ago 14

We sit down with David McAllister, the chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. He talks to us about the security threats facing Europe, and what defence gaps the EU urgently needs to close. For McAllister, the EU is "not at war with the Russian Federation, but we are no longer at peace with Russia". He also believes that the EU is not, as yet, capable of making sovereign decisions in certain areas of defence "because we are too dependent on US capabilities." Asked about the worsening security situation that Europe faces, McAllister says: "We need to establish a fully fledged European defence by the end of this decade. We need to be able to defend ourselves against all the imminent threats we are facing. And that means spending more, but also spending more effectively, because it is taxpayers' money that we are spending in large numbers. There are certain military capabilities that we don't have in Europe, for the time being. There are fields in which we have to move ahead. I'm talking about ammunition and anti-drone systems. I'm talking about satellite intelligence. I'm talking about air-to-air refuelling. I'm talking about air defence in general. These are fi...

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