"European Parliament members hotly debated over defence spending and military strategy amid ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict during session Strasbourg on Monday. Spanish MEP Juan Ignacio Zoido Alvarez mentioned US National Security Strategy, emphasising the importance of the 'shared responsibility' of NATO member states as the 'cornerstone' of the EU collective security. "Trump's security strategy is the latest reality check for those who thought that strengthening European defence was not urgent," he said. "If we want this alliance to be strong, we cannot move forward in dependence, but rather in shared responsibility. This responsibility must be borne by each of the partners and contribute to collective security and defence." The debate also featured criticism from German MEP Petr Bystron, who accused NATO and the EU of creating a false image of Russia as a threat. "Since the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, there has been no threat to Europe. And you have successfully built up Russia as the new enemy through NATO expansion. You are continuing to try to do so," he said. "I tell you this: the only threat we have in Europe is illegal migration. And you would do better to invest the 250 billion." In turn, Hilde Vautmans, a Dutch MEP, painted a stark choice for Europe, framing the debate as one between building a unified European military or risking continental irrelevance. "If we want Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping to take us seriously, we must stop fooling ourselves and, step by step, bring everything military to the European level. It is either a European army or European irrelevance," she said. Another German MEP, Siegbert Frank Drose, expressed scepticism over the EU's readiness for defence initiatives and praised US President Donald Trump's peace proposals. "Trump is showing us that we need diplomacy and reason and, above all, a post-war strategy. Yesterday's spectacle in Berlin was nothing more than a miserable show," she said. The session follows \renewed diplomatic activity on Ukraine. Following US-Ukraine talks in Berlin, European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Earlier, Zelensky suggested he could drop demands for NATO membership and instead pursue US and European 'Article Five-like' security guarantees. US President Donald Trump, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Moscow have repeatedly said that NATO membership would not be possible as part of any peace settlement."