ago Arab News June 27, 2018 12:04 248 BRUSSELS: European Union leaders will promise on Thursday to intensify efforts to strengthen the bloc’s military cooperation and reduce its reliance on the United States, according to a draft summit statement. The pledge, expected to be agreed by the bloc’s 28 heads of government at a two-day summit from Thursday, will also include doing more to increase defense spending, a central demand of US President Donald Trump, who will attend a NATO summit in July in Brussels. “Europe must take greater responsibility for its own security,” the leaders will say. “The Union is therefore taking steps to bolster European defense, by enhancing defense investment, capability development and operational readiness. These initiatives enhance its strategic autonomy.” Trump’s “America first” policy and his conflicting statements on NATO and the European Union, as well as Europe’s underfunded militaries, have prompted the bloc to consider much closer EU defense coordination. However, it still insists that the US-led NATO alliance remains responsible for defending Europe. “Despite our tireless efforts to keep the unity of the West, transatlantic relations are under immense pressure due to the policies of President Trump,” European Council President Donald Tusk, who will chair the summit, told EU leaders in a letter on Wednesday. “It is my belief that, while hoping for the best, we must be ready to prepare our Union for worst-case scenarios.” Meanwhile, Turkey on Wednesday slammed the European Union as “hypocritical” and “prejudiced” after the bloc said Ankara was moving further away from Europe, just days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a new term. EU ministers on Tuesday said Turkey’s long-stalled accession negotiations — which began officially in 2005 — had “effectively come to a standstill.” The EU European affairs ministers meeting in Luxembourg added that Turkey was “moving further away from the European Union.” “Once again it is shown how the EU does not treat Turkey fairly or sincerely,” the Turkish foreign ministry responded in a statement, describing the ministers’ conclusions as “hypocritical and incoherent.” It added that the ministers’ statement also reflected the “prejudiced and unjust attitude” against Turkey. Turkish EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said on Twitter the conclusions showed that the EU was “confused,” with statements that “lacked vision” and were “full of contradictions.” Relations between Turkey and the EU have been strained for several years but especially so since the July 2016 attempted coup, with Ankara accusing Brussels of being unsupportive of the multiple terror threats Turkey faces. The EU has also often criticized the crackdown and the attacks on freedom of speech which followed the failed putsch, in which tens of thousands of people have been arrested including journalists. The EU and Turkey had agreed a deal in March 2016 worth billions of euros in which Turkey would take back migrants in exchange for visa liberalization, which has yet to be introduced for Turks. Celik said that the EU’s latest comments amounted to saying “that it will not honor its commitments of the 18 March statement.” Taking aim in particular at Austria’s conservative government, Celik said it was “tragi-comic” that the EU made such comments when it was “held captive by members where the far-right is ruling.” The EU has reacted cooly to Erdogan’s decisive victory in Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections, which will give him sweeping new powers. EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and EU president Donald Tusk only issued the tersest of statements of congratulation to Erdogan. With Reuters and AFP.