Wadephul met with Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) during a visit to Stockholm on Monday, and at a joint press conference he explained that Europe is "on its way" to eventually being able to defend itself with conventional means, in other words, to do without the United States.
We are on our way there, because we have now decided to allocate five percent of our gross domestic product to defense, and if we do that in the next few years, and Sweden and Germany are determined to do so, then we will, of course, be able to defend ourselves conventionally, Wadephul said.
When asked about the conditions for a common European nuclear weapons umbrella, Wadephul was more cautious.
Europe must be aware that there is no quick solution, but that for a considerable period of time we will be dependent on the continued existence and functioning of the US nuclear umbrella.
The question of the United States' role in the NATO defense alliance is highly topical following President Trump's proposal to incorporate Greenland into the United States.
