Trump’s comments on NATO worry Europe – DW – 02/12/2024
“NATO cannot be a military alliance, it cannot be a military alliance that operates depending on the mood of the president of the United States,” European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters. ” Brussels, in response to Donald Trump’s recent comments about NATO.
At a campaign rally in South Carolina on Saturday, Trump told the crowd that as president he had warned NATO allies that he would encourage Russia to do “whatever it wants” with those countries. Which doesn’t make them “pay the bills.” His comments caused concern across Europe, with European NATO members already concerned about the prospect of Donald Trump becoming a second president.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded in a statement on Sunday, “Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other would undermine all of our security, including that of the United States, and put American and European troops at greater risk. “
NATO is facing threats from Trump
As President, Trump had threatened several times to withdraw from NATO. He warned that he would force the Europeans to pay for American security, and repeatedly cast doubt on the American commitment to the core alliance, a principle enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, stating That “”An armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against all of them.”
The fact that he is doing it again – attacking the “soul of the alliance”, as some in NATO see it, this time during an election campaign – has been described as “worrying” by diplomats. . After all, many aides fear that Trump could be bolder and more adventurous in a potential second term than in his first term.
“The last time Trump was in office there was the biggest upheaval in relations between Europe and the United States since the founding of the EU,” Alison Woodward, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies in Brussels, told DW. “
“It was really a very dramatic change. And that’s why I think leaders are now preparing for what might happen if Donald Trump is re-elected,” he said. During Trump’s first presidency, the United States imposed punitive tariffs on trade with EU members, causing a significant deterioration in transatlantic relations.
An important moment for NATO
Trump’s recent comments come at a very important time for the alliance, as some allies are openly warning of a possible escalation of Russian war against Ukraine, while a new US aid package to Kiev is stalled in Congress, and Europe is struggling to increase its armaments. Production.
“Trump’s comments increase the likelihood that Russia will test NATO, especially if Donald Trump wins the election, but probably not only,” Michael Baranowski, managing director of the German Marshall Fund East think tank, told DW US experts. “
“The comments have made Europe less safe,” he says, adding that Trump has “raised the question in the minds of many leaders, including those in NATO’s eastern wing, whether the United States could attack any one All colleagues will support him in the situation”.
These concerns have been expressed by diplomats in Brussels, who say privately that Trump’s comments have already damaged the alliance. The biggest problem seems to be that their claims are very difficult to refute. Trump attacked NATO allies for “not paying their bills,” a misleading claim because technically there is no bill to pay.
Are Trump’s comments an alarm bell?
Trump’s comments cite the fact that a large number of NATO member states still spend less than 2% of their GDP, the target agreed upon at the 2014 NATO summit in Wales.
Germany is expected to meet the target this year for the first time since the end of the Cold War, thanks largely to a special 100 billion euro (about $107 billion) fund created in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But increased funding is far from guaranteed.
For this reason, diplomats and experts in Brussels agree that Trump is right when he mentions the urgent need for Europeans to invest more in their collective defense. “I think what the presidential candidate said in the United States is also meant to wake up some of our colleagues who have not done much,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters during a visit to Brussels.
Governments across the continent appear to be realizing that European allies must do more to protect themselves, regardless of who is the next US president. These efforts are at the center of contingency plans that European allies are developing behind the scenes, focusing on improved military capabilities and a more integrated strategic approach.
(whistle/cp)