French President Macron ‘plots to block Ben Wallace from top NATO job because Britain left the EU’
- President Macron is said to want a secretary-general from an EU member state
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French President Emmanuel Macron is plotting to block Defence Secretary Ben Wallace from becoming the next boss of Nato because the UK left the European Union, it was claimed last night.
Mr Wallace has been touted as Nato’s next secretary-general after winning plaudits for his tough stance on Russia. But French officials have reportedly told Nato officials that they want a figurehead from the EU in a move to make the bloc militarily independent and less reliant on Washington for its security.
‘He [Ben Wallace] is not from an EU member state,’ a source told The Daily Telegraph.
‘Many countries, mainly France, insist the next secretary-general must come from an EU country.’
Jens Stoltenberg, the former Norwegian prime minister who has headed the alliance since 2014, is due to stand down in September, although US President Joe Biden is said to have asked him to delay his departure until next spring. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has been named as a potential successor, but is reported to not have Mr Biden’s backing.
Ben Wallace, a former officer in the Scots Guards who served in Germany, Cyprus, Belize and Northern Ireland, is widely respected within the alliance (pictured on June 15)
Germany and a majority of EU states in Nato are said to back the French position – but the Netherlands and Poland could back a British candidate (President Macron pictured on June 17)
Mr Wallace, a former officer in the Scots Guards who served in Germany, Cyprus, Belize and Northern Ireland, is widely respected within the alliance and has signalled that he is interested in the job.
Should he be appointed, he would be the third former British Defence Secretary to hold the post, after Lord Carrington and Lord Robertson. But he appears to face a concerted campaign by France to scupper his prospects.
Germany and a majority of EU states in Nato are said to back the French position – but the Netherlands and Poland could back a British candidate.
Senior Tory MP Sir John Hayes told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We have an excellent Defence Secretary who would be a very good head of Nato. The last people to tell us what to do when it comes to defence are the French.’
Fellow Tory MP Sir Julian Lewis said: ‘To prevent Ben Wallace from becoming Nato secretary-general, just because we have left the European Union, shows wilful disregard of the different roles of the two organisations and undermines the cohesion of the alliance.’
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