LONDON (AP) – Defense Secretary Michael Fallon says Britain will have to work harder to maintain its military and political influence on the global stage because of its decision to leave the European Union.
Fallon said Monday Britain’s June 23 vote to leave the EU will force it to intensify bilateral relationships and strengthen existing alliances to demonstrate it has no intention of stepping back from its long-established international role.
“We’ll do more in NATO to compensate, we’ll work harder at the key alliances within NATO, the United States but also France, and we have already signaled our intention to do more with Germany,” he told several U.S. reporters before a long-planned trip to Washington to deal with counter-terrorism strategy.
Speaking from his spacious Ministry of Defense office, featuring an oversize photograph of Winston Churchill and Defense Intelligence maps of Libya and South Sudan, Fallon said Britain “absolutely” plans to meet commitments made to NATO allies on defense spending.
He said freeing Britain from EU procurement rules may give Britain more flexibility to pick and choose the equipment it needs.