Europe needs new military alliance to defend itself, Italy says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto is calling on the EU's members to form an alliance with other like-minded nations.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Motoko Rich
ROME – Italy has called for the creation of a new European defence alliance to safeguard the continent amid growing threats from Russia and a rising reluctance by the US to guarantee Europe’s security.
The proposal, made by Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, calls on the European Union’s 27 members to form an alliance with 13 other like-minded European nations that are not part of the bloc, including Britain, Norway, Turkey and Ukraine. “We must build a continental Europe of defence,” Crosetto said in an interview with The New York Times.