In Ankara, Europe Faces an Accelerating U.S. Decoupling From NATO

(Liana Fix, Anna Terkhorn – Council on Foreign Relations) European allies thought the July 7-8 summit in Ankara, Turkey, was going to be about the achievements they have made since last year’s gathering at The Hague—a “scorecard” on how far European NATO allies have come in raising defense spending. The result would have looked respectable. Not only have European allies reached their targets of spending 2 percent of their GDPs on defense, they have made real progress toward the new goal of 3.5 percent (+1.5 percent on related infrastructure spending) by 2035. Through the European Commission’s ReArm Europe initiative [PDF] and SAFE defense loans, European Union (EU) member states have greater fiscal flexibility to reach these goals. Germany, Poland, and the Baltic states are leading in spending [PDF]: Berlin will reach 3.5 percent by 2029 already with debt-financed rearmament spending, Poland is heading toward 5 percent, and the Baltic states are at or already above the 3.5 percent. All appear propelled by the need for Europe to bolster its forces against a Russian military currently facing a vigorous defense from Ukraine. The plan for Ankara was to transform Europe’s ramped-up spending into “real capabilities.” As NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on June 25 in Washington: “Russia is not afraid of commitments, but of capabilities.” – In Ankara, Europe Faces an Accelerating U.S. Decoupling From NATO | Council on Foreign Relations