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The leaders of the NATO countries met in The Hague for their annual summit. In view of the latent Russian threat, they agreed on a drastic increase in collective defense spending. But it was also about satisfying the unpredictable man in the White House. Does this solve all the problems now?
For decades, Europe has been the most loyal ally of the United States. That’s what most political and military leaders on both sides of the Atlantic understood Europe’s role on the world stage to be.Â
That today is insufficient, as US president Trump treats his faithful allies as if they were devious freeloaders.
That’s why the prospect of being abandoned by the US produces existential angst among Europeans. Who would lead the western defense in case of a Russian attack?
In The Hague, European NATO allies agreed to invest more in the defense of their own continent: the target is now 5% of GDP over the next few years.
Is this realistic for everyone? Is it enough? Does it come with a new strategic role for Europe? And most important: will it placate Washington in the years to come?
Questions our guests discussed this week: Kathleen Van Brempt, a Belgian member of the European Parliament from the Social Democrats, Matthew Robinson, director of the Euro-Gulf Information Centre, and Karel Lannoo, chief executive of the Centre for European Policy Studies.
The NATO summit was overshadowed by the Middle East conflict. After all, the largest and most important member of the alliance became a party to the war there. The US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities came in support of Israel and ultimately brought about a ceasefire – but this was broken just hours later.
Does diplomacy still have a real chance after all?
The problem: there are still too few answers to too many questions. Is Trump’s decision like kicking a hornet’s nest? What real damage have the bombings caused? Is the Iranian nuclear program now history?
And what about regime change in Tehran? Does Trump want one or does he not? And how could this be achieved without a military invasion? And finally: what about the ceasefire?
Finally: Thank you Donald Trump! The US president’s behavior has practically turned his neighbor Canada and the European Union into political lovers.
Trump’s threat of the 51st federal state was echoed in this country by talk of the 28th member state of the EU. This week, the leaders of the EU and Canada met in Brussels for a summit – which also focused on defence. But that’s not all: the bilateral security and defence pact, that was signed here, is the most far-reaching agreement that Europe has ever entered into with a third country.
This will open up new avenues for joint work on crisis management, military mobility, maritime security, cyber and cyber threats, and defence industrial co-operation.
Is Canada replacing the US as a favorite partner in North America?
