LONDON (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — The United Kingdom will be at risk if the European Union creates a joint defese force, UK Independence Party (UKIP) home affairs spokesperson Diane James told Sputnik.
"Certainly what we do not agree with is any form of EU defense force, which would put the UK at risk, it would mean the UK might have to rely on other countries to supply be it warships, aircraft, whatever it might be, we don't see it as a way forward," James said.
She underlined that the UKIP's pledge to spend 2 percent of the country's GDP on defense is not an increase, but upholding the UK commitment as a NATO member. She said that UKIP is the only political party urging to abide by this commitment.
"Maybe we just got more idea of what the degree if threat is, and we think that we need to invest and fund our defense services to make sure that we can deal with that," James said.
Last month, the UKIP said in a statement that the party would increase the British defense budget by almost $24 billion over the course of the next parliament after the May 7 general election to keep Britain in line with the 2-percent NATO target.
Britain is the second biggest military spender in NATO, outstripped only by the United States, and is one of only four NATO member states meeting the 2-percent target.
