The difficult question of European defense autonomy.

Leaving the table at the informal summit recently held in Brussels, Belgium, officials from the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the United Kingdom were still grappling with the question of how to achieve self-reliance in defense.

The EU summit is not officially taking place in Brussels. (Source: European Union)

The official return of Donald Trump, who has long been skeptical of NATO, to the White House leaves Europe with no room for delay. Not only has he threatened to leave the alliance, but Trump has also warned he will not defend members who do not meet the 2% of GDP defense spending target. Trump has complained, “Europe spends very little compared to us. Why should the US spend billions more than Europe?”, and then demanded a 5% increase in defense spending, shocking many NATO members.

Unlike in Europe, Trump once argued that Washington's desire under Joe Biden for Ukraine to join NATO was the reason Russia launched its military campaign in the neighboring country. He stated, "Someone is standing right on Russia's doorstep, so I can understand how they feel about that." Therefore, a reduction in US aid to Ukraine is highly likely.

In this context, Europe needs to be self-reliant and cannot continue to depend on the United States. However, European defense is currently lacking in many areas. Crucial defense elements such as integrated air defense and missile systems, long-range precision artillery and missiles, satellites, and aerial refueling aircraft are all supplied by the United States.

Furthermore, where will the money come from to make the changes? It is estimated that Europe will need €500 billion for defense over the next decade. The only way to achieve this is to issue common regional bonds. But this would place an additional financial burden on member states already struggling with budget deficits.

Many difficult questions are perplexing Europe, especially since its ally Washington may be willing to be harsher on allies than on adversaries for its own benefit.

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