The difficult question of European defense autonomy

Leaving the meeting table at the recent informal summit in Brussels (Belgium), officials from the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the UK were still struggling with the question of how to become self-sufficient in defense.

Informal EU summit in Brussels. (Source: European Union)

The return of Donald Trump, who has long been skeptical of NATO, to the White House has left Europe with no room for delay. Not only has he threatened to leave the alliance, but he has also warned that he will not defend members who do not meet the 2% GDP defense spending target. Trump has stopped complaining: “Europe spends a very small amount of money compared to us. Why does the US have to spend billions of dollars more than Europe?” and has demanded that defense spending be raised to 5% of GDP, surprising many NATO members.

Unlike Europe, Mr. Trump once said that Washington under Mr. Joe Biden wanted Ukraine to join NATO as the reason for Russia's military campaign in the neighboring country. He declared: "Someone is standing right on Russia's doorstep, so I can understand how they feel about that." Therefore, the possibility of the US reducing aid to Ukraine is likely.

In that context, Europe needs to be self-reliant and cannot depend on the US. However, European defense is currently lacking in many areas. Important defense elements such as integrated air and missile defense, long-range precision artillery and missiles, satellites and aerial refueling aircraft are all provided by the US.

In addition, where will the money come from to change? According to estimates, Europe will need 500 billion euros for defense over the next decade. The only way to do that is to issue common bonds for the region. But this would put an additional financial burden on member states already struggling with budget deficits.

Many difficult questions are confusing Europe, especially when Washington, for its own benefit, is willing to be more heavy-handed with its allies than with its opponents.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/cau-ho-i-kho-ve-tu-chu-quoc-pho-ng-cua-chau-au-303361.html