US leadership doubts spur more calls for stronger EU defence

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 16 - With Donald Trump's recent NATO comments igniting a political firestorm among the alliance's members and further US funding for Ukraine looking set to be rejected in the Republican-led lower house, European leaders call for stronger European efforts to ensure the security of the continent.
    Donald Trump, former US President and the presumptive Republican nominee for the November US election, said at a campaign event that he would "encourage" Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" to NATO countries that are not spending enough on defence.
    Trump's comments about the US-led military alliance - brash even by his standards of long-term NATO-bashing - drew alarm from allies and fierce condemnation from the White House with US President Joe Biden condemning the comments as "dumb" and "shameful".
    NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that "any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US". EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that "NATO cannot be an à la carte military alliance", adding that it was either existing or not existing.
    Spanish Minister of Defence Margarita Robles said that the alliance "will not accept any act that could involve a violation of the minimum rights included in international law and in the UN Charter of Rights".
    Diplomats from multiple NATO countries insist that keeping the United States on board remains fundamental to deterring the threat from Russia. But they remain sanguine about how genuine Trump's threats are, arguing the alliance emerged from his first term unscathed.
    "Unprecedented rise" in defence spending, doubts over future US aid for Ukraine Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that 18 of the alliance's 31 countries are set to hit their defence spending target this year. Spurred on by Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022, last year saw an "unprecedented rise" of 11 percent in spending by European members and Canada, the NATO chief added.
    Overall, he said European allies and Canada will have added more than $600 billion to their defence spending since they set the two-percent goal of their GDP a decade ago. The United States still accounts for the vast bulk of combined defence spending by NATO members.
    "We should leave no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness and our commitment, our resolve to protect allies," Stoltenberg said.
    NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană stated in early February: "We will continue to support Ukraine. This is not the time to become pessimistic about what will happen in this war, which will be two years old in a few days. We have the resources, we have the will to make Ukraine succeed. It is very important that we remain united and continue to support this country, because their fight is our fight, their security also protects our security." Moscow's full-scale war on Ukraine has served as a wake-up call for European countries and saw NATO turn the two-percent figure into a minimum requirement rather than a goal. Key players such as Germany have ramped up their spending and are set to meet the target this year. Spain aims to reach two percent by 2029.
    Spanish Minister of Defence Robles said the government was making an "extremely important effort" in terms of defence investment, adding that the 2023 budget was "a very high increase" in comparison to the year before.
    Celebrating its 20th NATO membership anniversary this year, Slovenia's defence expenditure is estimated to reach 1.31 percent of its GDP. The country plans to raise defence spending to two percent by 2030. The modernisation of the Slovenian Armed Forces gained momentum in recent years but investment plans were impacted by the catastrophic floods last year.
    On Thursday, Stoltenberg said he was welcoming the uptake in defence investments by the European allies but also that this was not an alternative to NATO but a way to strengthen it. The NATO chief underlined that the strength was to have Europe and North America in NATO together.
    While there is a focus on NATO's own defence spending, the pressing issue of support for Ukraine was also on the table at the meeting on Wednesday.
    The US Senate a day before approved long-delayed funding for Ukraine's war effort, but the package looks set to be rejected by the Republican-led lower house. Doubts over the future of US aid come as Ukraine says its forces are being outgunned in the face of a slow-moving Russian advance along the front line.
    (ANSA).