German minister in row with Macron: Europe needs US to defend itself

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer stuck to her guns on Tuesday, declaring that Europe needs the United States in order to defend itself.

"The idea of strategic autonomy for Europe goes too far if it feeds into the illusion that we can guarantee security, stability and prosperity in Europe without NATO and without the US," Kramp-Karrenbauer, who also leads Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, said in a key policy speech.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron had described similar comments made by the German minister as "a misinterpretation of history," calling for Europe to take on a more sovereign role in defence matters.

Kramp-Karrenbauer agreed with Macron on that point: "We want Europe to be a strong partner for the US on equal footing and not a protege in need of help."

But she stressed the importance of the US in ensuring European security.

"Without America's nuclear and conventional capabilities, Germany and Europe cannot protect themselves. These are the sobering facts," Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

Kramp-Karrenbauer pointed to the fact that Europe is almost fully dependent on Washington for ballistic missile defence and that the US also accounts for the majority of nuclear weapon arsenal.

"According to serious estimates, it would take decades to compensate for all this and our current defence budgets would become more than modest."