Spain and France have broken ranks with some of their NATO allies by insisting that Europe needs to develop its own army and wean itself off military dependence on the United States.

Jose Manuel Albares, Spain's minister of foreign affairs, European Union and cooperation, said on Tuesday that the case for a unified European army was made when the US threatened to invade Greenland — a territory administered by fellow NATO member Denmark.

"The threat of the use of force is not a tool for foreign policy," Albares said.

"You cannot bring war to European soil. It is very clear that the American administration has a new vision of trans-Atlantic security … Therefore, it's more important than ever that we have our deterrence in our hands," he said.

The continent is obviously not yet ready to defend itself without the help of the US, but it should start to move in that direction without delay, he told reporters.

"I am very much aware that you don't do that from one day to the other, but if we are doing a coalition of the willing when it comes to security for external threats to Europe, we can very well do it for us, for our deterrence," he said.

Albares explained his thinking after Mark Rutte, secretary-general of NATO, said on Monday that Europe would be incapable of defending itself without the help of the US, and that Europeans were deluded if they thought they could.

"If anyone thinks here, again, that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming," Rutte told lawmakers during a committee meeting at the European Parliament.

"You can't. We can't. We need each other," he said.

European countries would have to spend 10 percent of their GDP on defense, instead of the current 5 percent or less, to get an effective military force without US involvement, he said.

"You'd have to build up your own nuclear capability. That costs billions and billions of euros," Rutte added.

Defending self

Albares responded by saying he believes Europe will eventually be able to defend itself without the help of the US, which has massively contributed to European security ever since the end of World War II in 1945.

However, he said the continent, which already has significant economic power, must develop additional political power and independence without becoming more aggressive, by nurturing and strengthening deterrents.

Jean-Noel Barrot, France's foreign minister, shared the view, saying on X that a stronger Europe does not mean the end of NATO.

"No, dear Mark Rutte," he wrote. "Europeans can and must take charge of their own security. Even the United States agrees. It is the European pillar of NATO."

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com