EU's Michel Says Dependence On US For Kabul Airlift Stressed Need For Strategic Autonomy

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published September 08, 2021 | 05:40 PM

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2021) The EU dependence on US troops to airlift its nationals from Kabul underscored the need for the European Union to move toward more strategic autonomy, the European Council president said.

Charles Michel is one of the senior EU policymakers advocating for a European rapid military reaction force in the wake of the botched evacuation from Afghanistan.

"That the European Union... a 27-nation military power was unable to ensure, without US aide, the assistance necessary to evacuate its nationals and Afghan support staff should give us something to think about.

I think this underscores the urgency of an in-depth discussion on how to reinforce the European strategic autonomy," he told Le Grand Continent journal.

NATO allies of the United States said they were forced to withdraw from Afghanistan after Washington announced it would end its longest war in history. US President Joe Biden set the pullout deadline to August 31, prompting Europeans to rush to evacuate their forces before that date.