Steinmeier: European Army Cannot Replace NATO

“We have much to thank NATO”, he stressed during a visit to military headquarters in the western German town of Koblenzi.

My advice is not to take refuge in alternatives that are not available. The European Army is an idea, but it is not an adequate substitute for security provided by NATO”, he said, “German must make a greater contribution to the Western defence alliance in the coming years”, the president argued, as German medium “dpa” wrote.

“While the German Army, or Bundeswehr, has changed over the decades, the question of what its soldiers do has not changed. This is the protection of our fundamental, free and democratic order. It is the protection of freedom, democracy, rule of law and human dignity”, he stressed, Periscope.

Steinmeier also referred to a coalition agreement announced Wednesday in Berlin to form the next German government.

“We meet here on a special day, after weeks of negotiations for a coalition deal”, the president told the soldiers.