EU autonomy must undermine contribution to NATO - PM

Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said the European Union's strategic autonomy must not lead to the weakening of Europe's contribution to NATO's deterrence and defence potential. "We want an EU that is able to respond effectively to crises in its neighborhood", Szydlo stressed. She said there is currently no alternative to the security guarantees resulting from NATO membership. The prime minister noted that EU leaders had agreed that Europe had to do more for its security. "Poland shares this conviction", she said, adding, however, that the EU's strategic autonomy should not lead to the community distancing itself from the United States, which she defined as the EU's main security ally.