Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-002925/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Petra Steger (PfE)
On 9 July 2025, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned of a coordinated attack by China and Russia against the West in the event of war, following a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Rutte has stated that the Western alliance assumes that: ‘If Xi Jinping would attack Taiwan, he would first make sure that he makes a call to his very junior partner in all of this, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin … telling him … ‘I need you to keep them busy in Europe’[1]. On 5 July 2025, Rutte told the New York Times that such a scenario was highly likely[2]. In view of the ever closer security ties between the EU and NATO, such statements paint a highly dangerous picture of escalation based not on sound analysis but rather on politically motivated speculation that is frightening the European public and further aggravating the foreign policy climate.
- 1.Does the Commission share the assessment that Russia and China would launch a double military strike against the West in the event of war?
- 2.How does the Commission assess the impact on the European public of security policy speculation such as that made by Rutte, particularly with regard to scaremongering and the risk of escalation?
- 3.Does the Commission acknowledge that security and defence policy is primarily the responsibility of the Member States and that, for neutral states such as Austria, any political or institutional rapprochement with NATO structures would undermine their neutrality?
Submitted: 16.7.2025