Germany’s Wadephul says now is Europe’s moment to step up

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday that, in light of vocal demands from Washington, European NATO partners have a duty to make greater contributions to trans-Atlantic defence.

“Now is Europe’s moment,” Wadephul said on the opening day of the Munich Security Conference at a panel also attended by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“NATO has become stronger. It has grown larger,” he said, adding that this would likely be even more evident at the next NATO summit, scheduled for early July in Ankara.

Wadephul described NATO as the most successful defence alliance in the world.

“We will only be able to weather the profound global upheavals we face if we preserve our alliances, if we stand by what has always made us strong and capable of defending ourselves,” he added.