* Fox says events in Egypt should serve as a warning
* Budget cutting risks "fantasy defence"
* Britain says bilateral defence cooperation easier
By David Brunnstrom
MUNICH, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Security risks caused by the wave of unrest sweeping through North Africa and the Middle East will not affect the Western commitment in Afghanistan, Britain's defence minister said on Saturday.
But Liam Fox said the events in Egypt and elsewhere should serve as a wake-up call to some European nations that have been cutting their budgets well below their NATO commitments and indulging in "fantasy defence".
"We've made it very clear that our primary objective is to see the Afghan mission completed and that's doesn't change," the minister told Reuters, adding that Britain's spending in Afghanistan was ring-fenced from a Treasury reserve.
"The fact that other disputes are opening up in other parts of the world is not an excuse to in any way reduce our effort in resolving problems in Afghanistan," Fox said on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich.
At the same time, events in the Middle East and North Africa could serve as a warning, he said.
"It may well be a wake-up call to some of the European nations who have been reducing and reducing their defence budgets way below the levels that they had agreed through their NATO commitments," he said.
"They may want to ask themselves whether they are leaving themselves with too little to deal with some of the flashpoints that may exist in the world. Without the budget and the political will to deploy you are in fantasy defence."
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