The European Commissioner for Defense and Space, Andrius Kubilius, has urged EU member states to prepare for the withdrawal of American troops deployed in Europe. In his opinion, these actions should also involve increasing armament efforts and the development of space technologies.
Kubilius asserts that Europe must assume its own defense and develop the so-called“European pillar of NATO”, reports Agerpres.. The Commissioner also believes that “if the Americans start to reduce their presence, we will also need to find an answer to the question of how we will replace the approximately 100,000 American soldiers currently on the European continent and who play a very important strategic role”.
The European Commissioner reminded, in this context, that American troops can move quickly from one European region to another. According to him, the militaries of the 27 EU member states do not have these capabilities.
At the same time, Kubilius also believes that the military aid the EU intends to provide to Ukraine, 30 billion euros in 2026 and respectively 2027, is not sufficient to prevent Russia from dominating the battlefield.