"When we are threatened in our own neighbourhood, particularly to the south, we have to be able to respond, even when the United States or the (NATO) alliance would like to be less implicated," French defence chief Florence Parly said in Munich.

"To achieve that, we need strategic autonomy," Parly told the Munich Security Conference, alongside her German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen.

The EU announced in December a permanent structured cooperation on defence agreement, known as PESCO, aimed at developing new military equipment and improving cooperation and decision-making.

And French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a European Intervention Initiative (EII) that would let individual nations band together for operations outside of existing EU or NATO structures.

In particular, Paris feels it is bearing the brunt of efforts to stabilise Mali, Niger and other Sahel nations in Africa from jihadist groups that could attempt to strike Europe.

That has prompted warnings from NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg that the EU must not undermine the alliance.

But Parly said EU nations must be ready to act "without asking the United States to come to our aid, without asking them to divert their ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities or their supply craft from other missions."

"Forget about the routine worries of those who try to say it's either the EU or NATO: It's a false debate," she said.

Von der Leyen agreed that building up Europe's military autonomy was compatible with shoring up the NATO alliance, adding that the goal was "to stay trans-Atlantic".

"It is about a Europe that can also add more weight militarily so that it can be more autonomous and carry more responsibility -- also within NATO," she said.

France in particular has announced plans to bolster its defence spending, earmarking nearly 300 billion euros ($370 billion) of investments by 2025.

That would take the defence budget to the NATO target of 2 percent of GDP -- a target that few alliance members currently meet -- compared with about 1.8 percent.

Stoltenberg gave a cautious welcome Friday to the EU's stepped-up defence measures, "as long as they are done in a way which do not compete (with) but complement the efforts of NATO, that will strengthen NATO."

"The EU cannot protect Europe by itself," he said.

Speaking to reporters earlier on the sidelines of the conference, Stoltenberg cited a "more assertive Russia" in particular as a common challenge for NATO and the EU.

"We are responding in a proportionate, measured way to prevent a new arms race, a new Cold War," Stoltenberg said, adding that he would meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is also attending the conference.

"Dialogue is always important especially when tensions are high, as they are now," he said.