JAKARTA - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he disagreed with the idea of forming a European single army because the European Union (EU) "cannot replace NATO".
He said the formation of European troops would "duplicate" what the North Atlantic defense alliance was doing.
"I welcome efforts to increase the EU's defense budget... but the European Union cannot replace NATO," Stoltenberg told The Economist.
According to him. The EU defense budget is only 20 percent of the total NATO budget.
If NATO member states form an alternative command structure, they will most likely 'duplicate' the functions of the defense alliance.
In late March, EU chief foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said disbanding armed forces of EU member states and forming European singles was unrealistic.
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Earlier on March 5, the European Commission submitted a proposal for legislation on a new strategy of the EU defense industry.
The legislation includes increased production of weapons and closer cooperation among its member countries.
In February, in an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow had no intention of attacking NATO countries.
Putin added that NATO countries are trying to intimidate their own people with imagination about threats from Russia.
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