Top EU diplomat Joseph Borrell says the bloc needs to massively expand its deterrence and defense capabilities because the continent may not always be able to rely on the United States.
He said the European Union has for decades been “very happy” under the “security umbrella” offered by Washington. “Well, the American umbrella may not be open all the time,” he said on the fringes of the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of top political and defense officials in the Bavarian capital.
He said that maybe the EU “would need to be more autonomous” than it had been used to. Borrell left open whether he believes Europe should embrace a new system of nuclear deterrence.
Europe was rattled with U. S. presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent comments that Russia should do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO members not meeting their financial commitments. Memories are fresh of Trump’s scepticism toward the trans-Atlantic alliance during his first term in office.
He created a minor furore in 2017 when he called NATO “obsolete,” and he frequently charged that the U.S. was paying an unfair share as a member.