Talking Europe – ‘We need a decisive European pillar inside NATO’: Parliamentary Assembly President Perestrello

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened the sovereignty of two founding members of NATO, Denmark and Canada, and he has lashed out at NATO countries for refusing his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz during the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. In a fresh blow to the Atlantic alliance, Trump has announced the withdrawal of 5,000 American soldiers from Germany.

Read moreA look at the US military presence in Europe as Trump seeks to withdraw troops from Germany

While France is promoting the idea of a distinct European defence capability, the strongly Atlanticist NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte refers to the notion of a European defence pillar as “a bit of an empty word”. What does Perestrello think?

“You need to build a European pillar inside NATO, capable of contributing decisively to the defence of the Euro-Atlantic region,” he answers. “I think that’s the point. It’s not an empty pillar. It’s a pillar built with European capabilities and European availability to assume responsibilities inside NATO. So I would say that you need to find the European pillar inside NATO, not outside. Because when the Secretary General says that we should not dream of being able to defend the European continent without the US, what he is saying is that if we go apart, we become weaker. If we work together, we become much stronger. Together, we were able to assure peace and safety in the Euro-Atlantic region for 80 years.”

Perestrello recently visited lawmakers in the US, and he insists that, despite Trump’s threats against NATO, he found “strong support for the strengthening of the transatlantic bond, and strong support for the transatlantic alliance, both in the House (of Representatives) and in the Senate of the US.” But Perestrello says there is also a recognition that “European countries need to do a lot more on the development of our defence capabilities”.

Referring to last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, where members pledged to increase their defence spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035, Perestrello remarks: “The targets are established. Now we need to settle and evaluate how this defence spending is increasing. How it is being put into effect. And that is the major thing that needs to be discussed in Ankara (at the NATO summit in July). All the countries are assuming their responsibilities. Even Spain crossed the 2 percent (target) last year. And there’s a role also for European leaders to call on the attention of the US administration that the commitments assumed are being accomplished. It’s important that everybody knows that.”

On NATO’s support for Ukraine, Perestrello says: “Frankly, I think we are not doing enough. What we are doing allows Ukraine to resist, allows Ukraine to inflict some damage on Russia, but it’s not enough to put pressure on Russia and force them to sit at the table and seriously negotiate a ceasefire and a peace process.”

Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Oihana Almandoz and Perrine Desplats