"If Europe wants to survive, it must arm itself": Tusk urges not to cut corners on security in European Parliament

The countries of the European Union must take responsibility for the future of their continent and invest in armaments and energy independence from Russia. Such actions are primarily aimed at the survival of Europe.

This opinion was expressed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Strasbourg during his keynote speech in the European Parliament, Ukrinform reports. According to him, we need to act today.

"If Europe wants to survive, it must arm itself," the Polish prime minister said.

He emphasized that Europe cannot save on security now.

"If we do not want to spend so much money in the future on security, on armament, on defense, we must invest more money today. Not only the future of Ukraine, the region, but the whole of Europe depends on it," Tusk said.

In his opinion, the future of the world "as we know it" depends on such measures. Another key goal is to end Europe's energy dependence on Russia after the war in Ukraine ends.

"We will end the Russian aggression against Ukraine, we will return to business as usual, and we will make Europe dependent on Russian supplies again. This must be ended once and for all, because this dependence, among other things, led to this war. This should be clear to everyone in Europe," he explained.

The Polish prime minister called on Europeans to "raise their heads" and start believing in themselves. According to him, "Europe is, has been and will always be great" despite all the global crises and "the war on our eastern border."

On January 15, Tusk emphasized the need for European countries to take their NATO commitments seriously and increase defense spending. He made this statement in response to the proposal of US President Donald Trump, who called on the Alliance countries to spend 5% of their GDP on defense.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on January 13, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on European countries to significantly increase defense spending, exceeding the level of 2% of GDP. He warned that if this call is not followed, residents of these countries may need to learn Russian in the future.

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