Responding to former US President Donald Trump’s recent comments on Western military alliance NATO, European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said, “NATO is never a military alliance that depends on the whims of a US president.”
Trump said at an election campaign meeting in South Carolina, USA last Saturday, “If NATO member countries do not pay their share, he will encourage Russia to do whatever it wants.”
Trump’s comments have caused panic among European countries. Because Trump has the possibility of winning the next presidential election. And what will happen next, no one knows.
In response, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement, “What Trump said about NATO partners will have an impact on the United States and NATO partner countries alike. As a result, the risk of US and European troops will increase.
Trump’s threats and NATO
Trump has threatened to withdraw from NATO many times during his presidency. He has said several times that Europe has to pay for the US protecting them. Such a policy of Trump has raised doubts about the observance of the much-discussed article number five of the NATO agreement. It is said there, if one of the NATO countries is attacked, then Europe and America will see that attack as an attack on themselves and will resist it together.
Now the fact is, Trump again said controversial words about NATO. According to diplomats, Trump’s words on the campaign trail are very worrying. Many NATO members believe that if Trump wins again, he will want to control the situation with a much stronger hand than before.
In this regard, Alison Woodward, an analyst at the Institute for European Studies in Brussels, said, “When Donald Trump was president, there was the most excitement about the EU and the United States.” A dramatic change occurred. If Trump comes to power again, what will happen, it is normal for European countries to think this.
NATO’s time of crisis
Trump’s threat comes at a time when there are fears that Russia may intensify its offensive in Ukraine. At the same time, the US Congress did not approve a new aid package for Kiev. European countries are also struggling to increase the production of weapons.
Michael Baranowski, managing director of the German Marshall Fund, a US think tank, said, “Trump’s comments increase the fear that he will test the power of Russia-NATO when he comes to power.”
Read also: How Taylor Swift ‘won’ the Superbowl of American football
Michel also said that Trump’s comments have increased security concerns in Europe. The thought of whether the United States will stand by or not if an attack on a European country has naturally arisen.
Diplomats in Brussels echo the same fears. According to them, Trump’s comments have already damaged the military alliance. Because what Trump said is ridiculous.
Not spending on defense
Trump’s recent comments on NATO mean that European countries are not living up to their pledge to spend 2 percent of GDP on defense. The decision was taken at the NATO summit in Wales in 2014.
However, Germany is likely to meet its target this year. That too for a special fund of 10,000 crore euros. The fund was created after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Therefore, many analysts think that Trump’s words are not completely false. There is logic in this too. Trump’s words may wake up some European countries.
