Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda warned that a proposed new European defence treaty must not become a substitute for NATO.
"The idea itself is certainly interesting, but it is important that it is interpreted correctly. If it is interpreted as a kind of substitute for NATO actions, NATO goals, or NATO defence plans, then the view would certainly be negative," the president said.
His comments follow a call by European Union Commissioner Andrius Kubilius for a formal defence union.
"However, if this represents our ambition for the European Union to play a larger role within the NATO organisation as a component part, then such initiatives should undoubtedly be supported," Nausėda added.
The Euractiv publication reported last week that Kubilius, the European Union Commissioner for Defence and Space, proposed a new intergovernmental European treaty to establish a defence union. The move aims to prepare the bloc for a scenario where the United States shifts its focus toward the Indo-Pacific region.
Kubilius questioned whether current European Union treaties are sufficient to support the creation of a "defence union". He suggested that non-European Union states, including the UK, Ukraine and Norway, could also join such a treaty.
Nausėda noted that Lithuania has so far contributed to the new European Union defence initiatives overseen by Kubilius.
"This includes the action plan until 2030, the drone defence wall, and the external EU border programmes. All these pilot projects should be implemented because time is of the essence, and we are already facing hybrid threats from unfriendly eastern states today," the president said.
In January, Kubilius also suggested that European Union countries should consider creating joint military forces that could eventually replace US troops in Europe, proposing a "powerful, permanent European military force of 100,000 troops" as a potential option to better protect the continent.
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