STRASBOURG (dpa-AFX) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing an attack on NATO, according to Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. “We know that Putin is preparing to attack a NATO state, possibly in the late 1920s – although such a number is always used,” said the FDP defense politician in Strasbourg. She did not say where she got this information.
“It is currently a question of whether Europe will be able to defend itself,” emphasized Strack-Zimmermann. With a view to a possible attack by Russia on an EU country, she said: “To hope that the Americans will help us out of this is naive.” Putin's success in Ukraine would mean that “Ukraine's neighboring states are no longer safe either will be”.
Strack-Zimmermann: Defense is also possible without debt
She also campaigned for numerous military expenditures. When asked whether the German debt brake should also be relaxed, she said: “Anyone who has a budget of 450 billion euros a year – and therefore one of the strongest in Europe – can of course also invest in defense without getting into debt .” .” It's a question of prioritization.
They see their own party's program as being strongly aligned with NATO's goals. For example, if the NATO Secretary General says that members should invest 3 percent of their gross domestic product in defense, “then we will implement that.”
A majority of the European Parliament also voted at its December plenary week to upgrade its previous defense subcommittee, led by Strack-Zimmermann, to a full committee. The FDP politician was already chairwoman of the Bundestag's defense committee. Until now, the Defense Committee in the EU Parliament was attached to the area of foreign affairs./mjm/DP/men
