The head of a European council has slammed Donald Trump’s comments on national defence, even though his country has the worst military spending record of any major NATO member.
Spanish socialist politician Josep Borrell responded to an anecdote by US presidential candidate Donald Trump over the weekend, saying NATO “cannot be an a la carte military alliance.”
While President Trump is strong past tense Concerning improving the state of the NATO Alliance by explaining the potential consequences if the majority of NATO Member States fail to fulfill their treaty obligations; as pointed out by british times Some responded by treating his comments literally rather than as a “wake-up call.”
In response, Eurocrat Borrell seemed to blame Trump for precisely the sins of his homeland, Spain. He saidaccording to AFP: “Let’s get serious. NATO should not be an a la carte military alliance, a military alliance that functions depending on the humor of the US president…It either exists or it doesn’t exist. .”
a la carteinterpreted to mean choosing which parts of the alliance are suitable for the country and ignoring the rest, and a bias towards NATO, which benefits from collective defense but contributes relatively little to it. One could argue that it perfectly explains Spain’s involvement.
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Spain spend Defense spending is just 1.26% of GDP, far short of the 2% standard required by the NATO treaty for the common defense contribution of all member states. In fact, the only NATO member countries that spend a smaller percentage of their economies are Belgium (about the same size as the U.S. state of Maryland) and the highly economically developed Grand Duchy, with just 650,000 people living in 1,000 square miles. Only the micro-state of Luxembourg. .
President Trump said this last week. are you delinquent? …No, I won’t protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever they want to do. Must be paid. you have to pay the bill. ”
Because the United States has assumed responsibility for Europe’s defense for decades, many European countries feel they can reduce their defense budgets to levels well below their treaty obligations. Among major European countries, only Poland and the UK are paying their share.
Nevertheless, Borrell was not the only EU official to slam Trump, as was Guy Verhofstadt, whose home country of Belgium contributed even less to NATO last year than Spain. joined the chorus of anger.
verhofstadt claimed The comments by the presumptive Republican nominee (who implicitly acknowledged that he believes Trump will beat Joe Biden in the election and called him “president-elect”) also have implications for such troops. However, he said that it shows the need for an “EU army”. It would probably require EU member states to spend even more on defense than their mere 2 percent of GDP obligation to NATO.
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NATO’s main strength is its deterrence credibility, which relies on Article 5 of its Charter, which declares that an attack on one member of the alliance is an attack on all. The 2% defense spending floor is part of that deterrence, and the promise that 30 NATO members will come to the rescue of anyone attacked is a serious consequence, clear to potential adversaries. It is meant to be.
The failure of the majority of NATO members to meet their obligations, weakening the alliance and placing more responsibility and costs on the United States is a long-term challenge for Donald Trump, who has made improving the situation a key part of his presidency. This is a concern. . He was criticized at the time for undermining NATO by pointing out its flaws and threatening retaliation if they were not resolved. I was praised later NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said as he encouraged the many members who are not pulling their weight to step up.
Stoltenberg has been a moderate voice on NATO in recent weeks, amid alarming calls from some military leaders to prepare for a major war in Europe, but he remains the most effective. He continues to preach the importance of preparing for war as a means of deterrence.
Stoltenberg said last week that “the economic and industrial power of the Western countries is far below Russia’s. That means we have the means to surpass Russia both in production and investment… [but] Deterrence only works if it is reliable. As long as we remain united and invested in the security of our countries, we will continue to deter aggression in all its forms. ”
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