London- The Europeans have been in hard search for alternatives since US President Donald Trump’s arrival to the White House, where he has not hesitated to threaten a more isolated policy approach to the allies, in an effort to turn the tense relationship with Washington in more than one file into an engine to restore the economic initiative and take the helm of defense leadership.
After the recent NATO summit in The Hague ended in the American pressure by raising the ceiling of European allies spending to 5% of their raw internal output, Europeans – after their relatively fears of a sudden American withdrawal from the alliance – seek to transfer the burden of the oath to Europe.
Conditional American commitment
The American President pledged to adhere to the partnership in NATO and the lack of dismantling of the security connection between the Atlantic Bank, at a time when I preached the appearance of the victor who is able to force the Europeans to spend more money to bear the burdens of protection for themselves.
As for the Secretary -General of NATO Mark Route, during his statements at the summit he tried to confirm that the American pressure formed a decisive driving force that contributed to taking the Europeans a step as long as they hesitated to take it over the years.
The Politico newspaper concludes that the Secretary -General of NATO succeeded in “deciphering” the American president, and was able to secure a successful surprising summit, through his praise for Trump, at a time when he insisted on avoiding asking difficult questions about the methods of financing European defense budgets.
Rafael Lost, an expert on defense affairs of the European Council of Foreign Relations – believes – in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net – that raising defensive spending is not a purely American decision but rather a trend that the European countries have begun to realize its importance since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where the allies have already engaged, during the last three summits of NATO in Madrid, Philhenius and Washington, in preparing more detailed and realistic defensive plans.
The British expert adds that the Europeans have lost a lot of their confidence in the American ally, who seems increasingly busy managing crises in other regions of the world, such as the Middle East and the Hadi and Indian Oceans, away from the umbrella of the alliance.
On the other hand, Marta Machney, the first researcher of the European Union affairs at the “International Crisis Group” in Brussels, stresses that success in managing the complex relationship with the American President does not relieve Europeans from the need to think serious about how to bridge the critical gaps and gaps in their defensive system.
In her interview with Al -Jazeera Net – the expert in European policies believe that Washington’s current commitment to the alliance cannot be considered guaranteed in the future, as the United States may tend to reduce its military presence in Europe, at a time when the continent needs sustainable military support to face escalating security challenges.
In a joint article of the two experts on the British Financial Times, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz hinted that their two countries are working jointly on the independence of the European defense system and made it able to work within the framework of NATO as a reference framework to defend European security.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzr90w6zlb0
Search for alternatives
France and Britain – since Trump’s return to the White House – have begun to push towards the formation of the “coalition of those who wish” as a military defensive mechanism that provides the Ukrainians the security guarantees that the Americans have refused to provide if the signing of any peace agreement in Kiev.
This came against the background of the decline in the enthusiasm of the Americans during the current administration’s era of support for Kiev, as Trump avoids supporting any escalatory steps that may affect his approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite his meeting during the NATO Summit of Ukrainian President Foludmir Zellinski and his lack of objection to describing the summit statement to Russia as a “transit threat to the Atlantic bank.”
Rafiel Lost, an expert in defense affairs, believes that the NATO summit in The Hague added a European character to the alliance, and launched an important dialogue to redistribute the roles and burdens inside it, in line with the European orientation.
However, Shashnka Joshi, the editor of defense affairs in the British newspaper Economist, insisted – during his talk to Al -Jazeera Net – that the Europeans need to have clear vision and plans for the nature of the American military capabilities that they can abandon or replace, and set a specific timetable for the start of that transition.
In this context, the Europeans and the British are trying to find an alternative framework for the “NATO” umbrella to build defensive cooperation that enables them to protect European national security independently.
Since Britain has left the European Union, NATO has escaped a framework that has maintained military coordination between the two sides, at a time when London has reduced its obligations to the union’s joint defense and security policies after signing the “Brexit” agreement.
The European Union and Britain signed – weeks ago – at a summit that is the first of its kind since the latter’s exit from the Union – signed a defensive agreement that enables London to participate in the 150 billion euros of the European Defense Industries Fund, and gives British companies the opportunity to engage in European military infrastructure rehabilitation projects.
Difficult partnership
The British Guardian newspaper indicates that European defensive ambition will also require a long -term political commitment, which faces a real challenge with the remarkable rise of the populist right in a number of European countries, which adopts more isolated policies.
At a time when Spain expressed an explicit opposition to the plan to increase defensive spending of 5% of its local product, and it seemed as if it was an isolated voice inside the alliance, other countries did not fuse their fears of the inability of its budgets burdened with many burdens to meet the high -spending bishop imposed by the American President.
In turn, the US President threatened to force Spain to submit to the decision by starting negotiations with it, at a time when his administration officials are engaged in extensive and difficult talks with the European Union on reducing US customs duties that may reach a 50% on European exports to the American markets.
The French President expressed his hope that Trump will exclude European allies in his trade war, noting that the increase in defensive spending could not be achieved without raising the American customs restrictions.
Nike Tueni, a researcher at the European Center for Foreign Policy, believes – in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net – that raising military spending to an unprecedented level is not necessarily the best solution to deter any threat to European security, as it highlights a real fear that the increase will complicate the restructuring and rehabilitation operations of European military capabilities, and put Europeans under the pressure of the funding predicament.
Despite the keenness of European allies to ensure Washington’s commitment to NATO, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Line, warned of the difficulty of reaching a trade agreement with the United States, and called for the establishment of an alternative framework for the World Trade Organization to facilitate free exchange with countries wishing, without explicitly indicating Washington.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kszbfvsWs5w
British loyalty
On the other hand, British Prime Minister Kiir Starmer chose the NATO summit to announce the acquisition of his country 12 American F -35 fighter aircraft capable of carrying the air heads by air, at a time when London continues to restructure its arsenal from nuclear submarines in a close partnership with Washington.
While the French President is heading to putting his nuclear arsenal, a European deterrent umbrella is independent of American domination, to provide nuclear protection to the continent, Starmer avoids taking any positions that may be explained as a challenge to the American trends, stressing his commitment to the policy of “the lack of preference between partners.”
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, defensive affairs expert Rost notes that Britain had a real opportunity to expand its nuclear cooperation with France, and to adapt the two countries ’the two countries together to meet the European need for an independent deterrence,” but it seems that the British are not enthusiastic about that path, and they find it difficult to break their chronic nuclear association with the United States. “
