Europe needs 5-10 years to become autonomous on conventional defence, Belgian minister says

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken estimates Europe will need five to ten years to become fully autonomous in conventional defence, requiring increased dialogue with the United States.

Europe ​would need five ‌to ten years ​to take full responsibility for the continent’s conventional ‌defence, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken told Reuters on Friday, calling for more dialogue ‌between Europe and the United States. “I think ‌in five to ten years we will be pretty much autonomous on the conventional,” Francken ⁠said ​in ⁠an interview, a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete ⁠Hegseth announced a new review of America's troop ​deployments in Europe. “When they withdraw even ⁠more - and that probably will be the end ⁠of ​that posture review, the conclusion - we need to step up,” Francken said, ⁠adding that “the problem is then when we ⁠try to ⁠purchase military equipment, it takes so much time”.