The EPP top brass did not make clear by when the leaders will have to deliver this plan or what exactly it will address. However, a policy paper published by the EPP on Sunday pointed to nine areas where the EU needs to develop military capacity if it’s to become independent of the U.S., including drones, space and missile defense. The EPP’s policy paper still makes mention of NATO as the cornerstone of European defense.
The push to use the EU’s mutual defense clause comes amid the worst transatlantic crisis in decades, with Trump’s claim to Greenland shaking belief in the U.S. commitment to NATO.
During a press conference in Zagreb, EPP President Manfred Weber praised French President Macron for his offer to extend France’s nuclear umbrella to other EU states. “Having the new U.S. developments in mind,” said Weber, “I am totally in favor that the leaders are … considering how this option of a French nuclear weapon can be used for European security.”