Collectively the EU countries spend some 190 billion U.S. dollars on defense every year compared to the U.S. expenditure of 290 billion U.S. dollars, according to figures from theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday called for better cooperation between NATO and the European Union.
The two sides have so far failed to deal jointly and effectively with a world crisis, said De Hoop Scheffer on a conference over European defense policies in Berlin.
The main reason for the poor interaction between the two sides is the fear of too much EU influence among many EU officials, he said.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, admitted that the potential in the strategic partnership agreed by both sides has yet to be explored.
Both parties had to work on the relationship, he said.
Meanwhile, EU chief diplomat Javier Solana called on the EU countries to spend more on defense.
Otherwise, the EU would miss the target of joint defense by 2010, he said.
Solana also underlined the disparity of spending on defense between the EU and the United States.
Collectively the EU countries spend some 190 billion U.S. dollars on defense every year compared to the U.S. expenditure of 290 billion U.S. dollars, according to figures from theInternational Institute for Strategic Studies.
