According to the news in the British Daily Telegraph, French officials informed their NATO colleagues that “they want the next secretary general of the organization to be a name from the EU”.
A source told the newspaper, “He (Ben Wallace) is not from an EU member state. Many countries, especially France, insist that the next secretary general should be from an EU country.” used the phrase.
This move was interpreted as part of France’s effort to make the EU militarily independent and less dependent on Washington for its security.
Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, who has been NATO Secretary General since 2014, is expected to step down next September, but US President Joe Biden has allegedly asked Stoltenberg to extend his mandate.
British Defense Secretary Wallace is mentioned among Stoltenberg’s potential successors.
“(NATO Secretary General) I’ve always said it would be a good job. It’s a job I want. But I also love what I’m doing now,” Wallace said earlier. had used the words.