U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis shakes hands with his British counterpoint, Michael Fallon, at NATO headquarters in Brussels | Virginia Mayo/AFP via Getty Images UK defense secretary pivots to US, plays down EU cooperation Fallon echoed Donald Trump’s calls for NATO countries to boost defense spending.

British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced the U.K.'s defense relationship with the U.S. matters now "more than ever," especially "as we leave the EU," the Guardian reported Friday.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with his American counterpart James Mattis in London, Fallon emphasized the diminished role the EU would play in defense given the U.K.'s imminent departure from the bloc.

Fallon played down the EU's role in protecting Europe's frontline states in the Baltics: "Three out of the four countries leading NATO’s s enhanced forward presence in Eastern Europe [a force deployed to deter Russia] will be non-EU members,” he said. “When Britain leaves the EU, around 80 percent of NATO defense spending will be non-EU."

Fallon echoed comments made by U.S. President Donald Trump, demanding other countries in the alliance meet their commitment to spend a minimum 2 percent of GDP on defense. At present, only a few countries, including the U.S. and U.K., do so.

Fallon said he expected to agree with Mattis on “further steps to modernize NATO and ensure greater burden sharing."

He added: "That means more European members committing to annual increases in their defense spending in order to counter an aggressive Russia and tackle terrorism and cyber threats.”