Europe still needs the US, NATO for security: German Defence Minister

BERLIN: Europe will not be able to provide for its own security without the help of the United States and NATO for decades to come, German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said, rejecting French President Emmanuel Macron's idea of a European strategic autonomy.

"The idea of a strategic autonomy of Europe goes too far if it nurtures the illusion that we could ensure Europe's security, stability and prosperity without NATO and the U.S.," Kramp-Karrenbauer said on Tuesday.

It would takes decades for Europe to build up a conventional and nuclear military power to compensate for what the U.S. and NATO were contributing to the bloc's security at the moment, she added.