Press conference

Good afternoon.

It is a pleasure to be here today. And I would like to thank President Van Rompuy for inviting me to address the European Council.

My message today was clear: We all agree that defence matters. We all want to see a strong, committed Europe able to play its part in managing international crises. And we all want to make sure that European nations have the tools they need to make that happen.

That means developing real military capabilities, and those capabilities that our nations really need: observation drones, air-to-air refuelling, heavy transport. And it means enabling a strong European industrial base.

I welcome the increasing focus by European nations on developing these capabilities. And let me stress: It is not NATO or the European Union that possess these assets. These capabilities are owned by individual nations.

This is not about creating a “European army”. It is about making sure that the countries of Europe are strong and capable. So that they can contribute to crisis management when they choose, and how they choose - whether it be through the European Union, NATO or any other way.

Each country only has one set of forces, and one set of taxpayers. Duplication is a luxury we cannot afford.

So we need greater cooperation, coordination and cohesion. Within Europe. Across the Atlantic. And between the European Union and NATO.

We must be sure that we continue to complement and reinforce each other. In concrete terms, we must work closely together in developing military capabilities and industrial standards. In coordinating our approaches to maritime security and cyber security. And in training, exercises and defence capacity building for partners that need our support.

We must be smarter together. And stronger together.

And the time to act is now. Because unless we Europeans take our security seriously, North Americans will rightly ask why they should. Unless we recommit to our own defence, we risk seeing America disengage -- and Europe and America drift apart. This is not what any of us would want. And it would benefit neither ourselves nor the rest of the world.

So I welcome today’s European Council. I welcome the recognition that defence matters. And I strongly hope that it will produce stronger and more capable European countries. Because that would benefit us all.

With that, I am ready to take your questions.