Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, left, and Gen. Nick Perry, commander of Joint Force Command Norfolk, right, speak to the media after an assumption of command ceremony aboard the USS Nimitz at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., Sept. 24, 2026. (Peter Casey/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Any defense structure developed by the European Union should complement NATO rather than compete with the alliance, NATO’s top military commander in Europe has said, warning that parallel structures could strain limited resources.
Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, made the remarks on Sept. 28 during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Security and Defence Committee and its delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
“Whatever it is that the EU does with its member states and how it structures, should not be in competition with NATO,” Grynkewich said.
He said separate structures would be costly and risk duplicating capabilities already available through NATO.
Grynkewich also called for closer EU-NATO cooperation on defense procurement, pointing to European initiatives that give preference to EU-made products in strategic sectors.
Such policies are particularly important for defense companies from the United States, Canada, Britain, Norway and Türkiye, he said.
Grynkewich cautioned against rigid rules based on where military equipment is manufactured, arguing that battlefield performance should take precedence over its country of origin.
The ultimate goal should be for NATO and the EU to work in coordination to provide military personnel with the best available equipment, he said.
Grynkewich also pointed to the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum held in Ankara in July, where more than 50 billion euros in new procurement deals were announced, including projects involving strategic airlift, surveillance and intelligence capabilities.
He said the EU’s financial and regulatory tools and NATO’s military requirements could reinforce each other, calling for deeper cooperation between the two organizations.
