The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Wednesday that the bloc must heed US President Donald Trump's demand to spend more on defence, as she issued a stark warning over the threat from Russia.

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"President Trump is right to say that we don't spend enough. It's time to invest," Kallas said, adding that the United States must remain Europe's "strongest ally". 

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"President Trump is right to say that we don't spend enough. It's time to invest," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a keynote speech at a conference in Brussels. "The United States, they are our strongest ally, and must remain so."

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"The EU's message to the US is clear, we must do more for our own defence and shoulder a fair share of responsibility for Europe's security," she said.

EU countries have increased their military budgets since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But politicians acknowledge they will have to go further as they struggle to match Moscow's vast military output.

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"Russia poses an existential threat to our security today, tomorrow and for as long as we under-invest in our defence," said Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia.

"Many of our national intelligence agencies are giving us the information that Russia could test EU's readiness to defend itself in three to five years. Who else are we listening to?"

The leader of Poland, which spends proportionally more on defence than any NATO ally, urged fellow EU states to take seriously Trump's call to up the spending target to five percent of GDP from two percent.

"This is a time when Europe cannot afford to save on security," said Tusk, whose country took over the EU's rotating presidency this month.

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