The bloc's request comes amid ongoing debate among European powers regarding just how much of its defence the continent should entrust to the United States.
The European Union will work on the creation of its own secure communications capabilities if NATO doesn't share its tools, German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has indicated.
According to the politician, these options include using the NATO headquarters, which is “big enough” to be used by EU officials, or, if that fails, to develop its own secure comms infrastructure on the basis of NATO standards.
An unnamed NATO official speaking to DefenseNews suggested that idea of sharing the secure online meeting tools would need to be “assessed carefully,” since only 21 of NATO's 30 member states are also part of the EU.
Kramp-Karrenbauer's remarks come amid ongoing debate within the EU regarding the extent of European dependence on the NATO alliance for security. US-European ties within NATO have been strained in recent years by US President Donald Trump's insistence that other bloc members begin ‘pulling their weight' and commit at least 2 percent of GDP to defence.
European Army Debate
Last month, Kramp-Karrenbauer and French President Emmanuel Macron engaged in a heated debate on the issue of the creation of a common ‘European Army', with the German politician encouraging Europe to accept the “sobering facts” about the…
