Europe needs to create a defence alliance to strengthen its security, Prime minister of the German federal state of Hesse, Boris Rhein told Bild on 4 February.
Rhein emphasised that this should be done without the participation of the United States. He said:
Europe is facing the greatest challenge since its existence. The EU must be a player on the world stage and not a pawn of other powers. We want a strong European security union – with a common defence, a European nuclear umbrella, secure borders and protection of our critical infrastructure.
On January 22, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that a German brigade should be formed in the Baltics to become “fully combat-ready” by 2027. He noted that according to experts’ estimates, the country has three to five years to arm the brigade, which should be actively utilised.
