What Happened:
With the war in Ukraine and the comments about NATO by former President Donald Trump, Europe is looking to its future security by fielding an independent military. French President Emmanuel Macron notably took a stand and said Europe must begin to become independent on military and energy reliability. “We can no longer depend on others to feed us, care for us, inform us, finance us,” he said in a 14-minute long address to the nation. Later, he called for a summit of European leaders to discuss the challenges that may lie ahead for Europe.
This concern was sparked by former President Trump’s comments on NATO, stating, “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent? … No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.”
The Details:
The war in Ukraine has led European leaders to look at their current reliance on Russian energy and American defense. Europe’s governments are now demanding a massive arms build-up in light of Trump’s threats to withdraw from NATO. The demands range from military autonomy in each country to a European specific nuclear weapons system.
This is not the first step that European military leaders have taken toward re-militarization. Germany has been at the forefront of rearming itself, joined by Poland and France, who have all been openly critical of the former president’s comments. “There is no reason why we should be so clearly militarily weaker than Russia, and therefore increasing production and intensifying our cooperation are absolutely indisputable priorities,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
The leaders of Poland, France, and Germany have begun discussions on the reviving of the “Weimar Triangle” which is a regional cooperation bloc meant to bolster government cooperation in the region. These leaders have been incredibly critical of the former president’s statements on NATO, “NATO’s promise of protection is unrestricted—’all’for one and one for all,’” Polish Chancellor Scholz stated at the inauguration of an ammunition factory.
What’s Next:
The current administration is struggling to signal to NATO and other U.S. allies that the country does not want to leave these groups. President Biden has doubled down and urged Congress to signal the United State’s support for Ukraine and its European allies and pass the aid bill currently in the House of Representatives.
When asked about the aid bill and the former president’s comments, Biden said, “The stakes were already high for American security before this bill was passed in the Senate last night,” he said. “But in recent days, those stakes have risen. And that’s because the former president has sent a dangerous, and shockingly, frankly un-American signal to the world.” He also stated that the NATO alliance was a “sacred commitment” the U.S. made to Europe.
With the presidential election at the end of the year, it remains to be seen how the NATO comment will effect Trump’s or Biden’s poll numbers.
