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UK premier labels Russia among Europe’s main threats

Theresa May said that her country played a vital role in the European security

UK Prime Minister Theresa May EPA-EFE/WILL OLIVER

UK Prime Minister Theresa May

© EPA-EFE/WILL OLIVER

LONDON, September 29. /TASS/. Europe is facing growing threats of terrorism, cyber crime, migration and "Russian aggression," UK Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement ahead of the EU summit on digital technologies due in Estonia on Friday.

"From terrorism to cyber-crime, illegal migration to Russian aggression, the threats we face as Europeans are increasing in their scale and complexity. Now more than ever it is in all our interests to confront them together," the prime minister said in a communique received by TASS on Thursday.

She said that her country played a vital role in the European security.

"With the largest defence budget in Europe, a far-reaching diplomatic network, world-class security, intelligence and law enforcement services, and our position at the heart of NATO, the UK’s role in Europe’s defence has never been more vital," May said.

She said that London will continue its active participation in NATO activities.

"NATO remains the bedrock of our collective security, and there is no clearer demonstration of the UK’s unconditional commitment to Europe’s defence than the 800 British troops now in Tapa, leading a NATO battlegroup and standing shoulder to shoulder with their Estonian, French and soon their Danish counterparts too," said the UK prime minister, who will visit UK soldiers stationed in Tapa along with French President Emmanuel Macron and Estonia’s Prime Minister Juri Ratas.

She added that UK’s role in European security architecture will not decline after Brexit.

"As we prepare for Brexit, I want to build a bold, new security partnership with the EU. A partnership that reflects our shared history, promotes our common values, and maintains a secure and prosperous Europe," she said. "We will continue to work with our NATO allies, our European neighbours and the EU, to support a future partnership of unprecedented breadth and depth, that will guarantee the security and stability of the continent for generations to come."

During the European Union’s first summit on digital technologies, senior officials and experts will discuss how to turn the European community into the global leader of the digital sector by 2025. It will be the culmination of the first six-month period of Estonia’s rotating EU Council presidency, which ends in December.

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