EU, NATO To Present Joint Declaration On Cooperation By End Of 2021 - Von Der Leyen

The European Union and NATO will present a joint declaration on bilateral partnership by the end of 2021, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th September, 2021) The European Union and NATO will present a joint declaration on bilateral partnership by the end of 2021, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

"We need to invest in our joint partnership and draw on each side's unique strength. And this is why we are working with (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on a new EU-NATO joint declaration to be presented before the end of the year," von der Leyen said while giving her annual state of the union address before the European Parliament.

In an interview last week with The New York Times, Stoltenberg criticized the idea of a European military, saying that creating "parallel structures" could take away from unity within the bloc and weaken the military alliance. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell disagreed, telling Le Monde newspaper that the bloc's strategic autonomy does not pose an alternative to NATO.