PNN – In an article, a German media discussed the consequences of the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States for the security of Europe and NATO and considered this a terrible scenario that should be taken seriously in Brussels.
According to the Pakistan News Network, Tagus Shaw newspaper wrote in an article: These days, Europe has to deal with the idea that Trump can become the president of the United States again. But what does the occurrence of this scenario mean for the defense of NATO and Europe? And what about Ukraine? Or maybe everything is completely different?
What if? This question is currently heard a lot in Brussels, in the corridors of the European Union Commission, in the offices of representatives and in press conferences. The idea that Donald Trump could become president of the United States for a second term would normally cause panic or confusion in the European Union. Or a plea not again! For those who still remember how Trump insulted Europeans in his first term and wanted to cancel NATO.
“Emmanuel Macron”, the French president, has recently advised calmness in dealing with Trump. The French president told reporters: I always follow one philosophy; I take the heads of state as the people send me. Finally, Macron had to admit that he had ups and downs with Trump. Affectionate hugs, constant caresses with the message that the two leaders get along well: this French strategy no longer works.
However, Trump simply did not do what Macron wanted in the Syrian civil war, neither in withdrawing from the climate agreement nor in punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Macron is one of the few EU leaders to have previously spoken publicly about Trump’s possible return. In the meantime, there is no coordinated strategy among the heads of European countries, but it is clear to everyone: Washington will no longer support Ukraine in the war against Russia, as in the past. And this means that the Americans will no longer be responsible for the security of Europe.
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In his first visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels in 2017, Trump told Europeans it was not fair that US taxpayers contribute so much to European security, while many EU countries still owe so much.
This article continues: What was ridiculed by EU leaders at the time, must now be taken seriously. Americans have paid almost half of the military aid to Ukraine so far, and Trump wants to change that. Michael Galler, a representative of the Democratic Party in the European Parliament, says: We must prepare ourselves for these conditions as NATO partners, but also as partners in the European Union. It is especially unwise not to prepare for this prospect just because we don’t like it.
This foreign and security politician in Europe assumes that the American nuclear shield will remain intact for Europe because think tanks close to Trump have made it clear. But Galler sees no such generosity in the field of conventional weapons. In this regard, he said: In any case, regardless of the outcome of the elections, we must arm ourselves much more in the long term in order to be able to effectively and reliably confront Russia.
This article continues: There is no discussion in Brussels that Europe should spend more on its defense. But what that will be, how many billions of extra dollars will have to be raised by national funds that will then be lost elsewhere – there is a lot of silence on this.
Of course, there is also hope that things may not be so bad after all. Trump could lose, that’s a chance anyway, and even if he manages to get back into the White House, it might be Republicans who think transatlantic.
German Foreign Minister Analena Baerbock sees this option. In September, after the debate in Washington, he reported that he saw many Republicans there who, despite all the different views, still understood that support for Ukraine was central and important; Because it is also about “upholding rules-based order”.
Whether Trump will show interest in, and stick to, the rules-based order in his second term is something no one in Brussels wants to say or predict right now.