EU’s outgoing top diplomat Josep Borrell said the impending change at the helm of the US means the EU should urgently evolve from a purely economic bloc to an alliance with a military role that would complement NATO, Paralel.Az reports citing TASS.

He made the statement at a European Parliament hearing dedicated to relations between Brussels and Washington following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

"Trump's re-election should make it clear to us that Europe should bolster its security and take its destiny into its own hands," said the diplomat, who is stepping down on December 1. "The EU is [no longer] an economic union. Or it is not only an economic union. It is not enough to say that NATO should protect our security while the EU should only deal with economic issues. The EU must show ambition and develop its own military strategy. The EU must play a military role."

"It’s not a role that will be incompatible with NATO, but one that will complement NATO. Something will change soon," he went on to say.