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Europe's existential choice: Defend or depend
The stance of the current US administration has awoken Europe and Europeans to an opportunity to review and revitalize our defense capabilities and do our fair share in securing our neighbors and allies, and in so doing, help improve transatlantic relations.
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European Union flags flutter on Sept. 12, 2024, following the monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council in Frankfurt, Germany. (Reuters/Jana Rodenbusch)
For years, I have taken every opportunity to urge the European Union and its member states to invest more in defense.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, I repeatedly asked (as a member of the European Parliament) what further proof we would need to recognize the threats facing all of Europe. What would we, as Europeans, do if our security was threatened while our closest ally, the United States, was otherwise engaged?
Today, we confront that very situation. US officials are openly stating that they do not intend to devote most of their time or resources to dealing with what they deem European issues. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US has “other priorities to focus on”.
I agree. The global superpower has global responsibilities, and the number of flash points that might demand the US government’s attention seems only to be growing. In addition to challenges in the Western hemisphere, instability in the Middle East and severe tensions between nuclear powers India and Pakistan, there is also the paramount goal of redefining relations with China. Moreover, according to the Defense Department’s official planning doctrine, the US can no longer fight more than one major war at a time.
The current US administration has been communicating its position plainly. “We’re here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in Brussels this February.
And Vice President JD Vance was even more direct, stating: “Europe’s entire security infrastructure [...] has been subsidized by the United States of America”, even though it was in neither Europe’s nor America’s interest “for Europe to be a permanent security vassal of the United States”. President Donald Trump himself has repeatedly accused Europe of “freeloading” and “taking advantage” of the US.
Europeans may not like what we hear, but we cannot pretend not to hear it. We must be prepared for the US to wash its hands of not only Ukraine, but even Europe. Sylvie Kauffmann of Le Monde recently argued: “Preparing for the worst is a safer bet than hoping for the best.”
