Strasbourg, 18 June 2025
Member of the European Parliament and member of the committee on security and defence (SEDE) of the European Parliament, Željana Zovko, made a speech today at the plenary session in Strasbourg about the upcoming NATO Summit that will take place in The Hague on 24 and 25 June 2025.
Zovko stressed that 5% is a realistic defence spending target. The EU must increase its defence expenditure in order to seriously engage with the transatlantic partners and strengthen the European pillar of NATO.
She also insisted that the EU must understand that, without American security guarantee, at this moment the EU cannot deal in this shaky geopolitical arena.
Moreover, Zovko emphasized that the EU has to send a strong message. In this regard, she commended the fact that European leaders are aware of these realities and of the need to seriously work toward a strengthening of the EU’s defence and the protection of European citizens.
“As a Croat, I know where the danger comes from. The threats are coming from the East, South and West. Regardless of where you live, you cannot be safe if you don’t seriously engage and communicate to your public that these are dangerous and challenging time and we all have to pay for it”.