Europe is drawing up a contingency plan in case Trump withdraws the US from NATO — WSJ
This is reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Officials working on plans for a ‘European NATO’ are seeking to involve more Europeans in the Alliance’s command and control roles and to supplement American military resources with their own.
These plans are being informally advanced through side discussions and NATO lunch meetings. Sources speaking to the WSJ have assured that this is not about competing with the current Alliance. European officials are keen to maintain the deterrence of Russia, operational continuity and nuclear credibility, even if Washington withdraws its troops from Europe or refuses to come to its defence.
These plans gained momentum after US President Donald Trump threatened to annex Greenland from Denmark, a NATO member. And they are now taking on new relevance due to Europe’s refusal to support a US war against Iran.
In particular, the momentum is being fuelled by a political shift in Berlin: for decades, Germany resisted France’s calls for greater European sovereignty to ensure its own defence, preferring to retain the US as the primary guarantor of European security; but under German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, this is changing due to concerns about the reliability of the US as an ally.
Trump has stated that he is seriously considering withdrawing from NATO after Alliance countries failed to support him in the war against Iran. The US President criticised NATO, calling the allies “cowards” and a “paper tiger”.
On his social media accounts, he reiterated: “NATO has not stood by us, and will not stand by us in the future.”
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