Since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, one thing has been clear: Europe must defend itself.
Time is of the essence: the USA as a protecting power may no longer be reliable from next year.
Marburg/Cologne – The European Union is home to soft and weak people.
Morally depraved and indoctrinated by LGBTQ propaganda.
At least that's what Russian ruler Vladimir Putin claims.
He must have been all the more surprised at how quickly and united Brussels reacted to Russia's invasion war against Ukraine.
The anticipated rapid conquest also failed thanks to western arms deliveries.
Instead, events are developing in the direction of a war of attrition with high Russian losses.
Despite Europe's determination in the face of the attack, which violates international law, it is true that the USA is playing a leading role in arms deliveries and NATO reinforcements.
As always, it is America that rushes to Europe's aid in its hour of need.
A dependency that makes you vulnerable.
European politicians are therefore calling for the European Union to be restructured in such a way that Europe can defend itself even without the USA.
The Russian invasion made this urgently necessary.
Russia's war against Ukraine: EU is heavily dependent on the US for security policy
For political scientist Hubert Zimmermann, an expert in international relations from the University of Marburg, emancipation from Uncle Sam is still a long way off.
“After decades of disarmament, Europe must rely on territorial defense in the Ukraine war.
In the face of Vladimir Putin's threats, nuclear deterrence is suddenly playing a role again.
But in these areas the EU is heavily dependent on the USA,” he tells the
Frankfurter Rundschau
of
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
Militarily, technologically and in terms of the operational capability of their military, the US troops are far superior to the European armies.
His conclusion: "The dependency on Washington will continue for a long time." At least a decade.
This is historical.
After the end of the Second World War, two hostile fronts faced each other in the Cold War: the USA and the former Soviet Union.
The so-called Iron Curtain divided Europe into democratic and communist countries.
The threat scenario: An attack by the former Soviet Union, possibly with nuclear weapons.
Zimmermann: "Europe relied on the United States as a protective power." They themselves concentrated on economic growth and - later, after the fall of the Berlin Wall - increasingly on disarmament and civilian solutions.
This trend ended on February 24, 2022 at the latest, years earlier for many countries in Eastern Europe.
For the first time in decades, war raged on European soil.
And: “Europe would not be able to defend itself without the USA,” says Zimmermann.
A bitter realization.
But also one that motivates action.
A turning point in security policy: You can no longer rely unconditionally on the USA as an ally
The Bundeswehr received a special fund of 100 billion euros, the European countries are arming themselves and Finland and Sweden are pushing into NATO.
Scandinavia's air force is increasingly working together with the Baltic countries, the presence of NATO troops in the border areas of Eastern Europe has been significantly increased and the EU's defense capability has been increasingly expanded.
Because the Europeans have learned a bitter lesson: The certainty that the USA always has its protective hand over them has died at least since former US President Donald Trump.
Elections are coming up in the USA next year – the outcome is uncertain.
And even so, the states have their own problems domestically.
“If Trump or someone like him comes to power, one can assume that the US will become very decoupled from Europe.
US President Joe Biden is a temporary historical godsend.
Europe now knows that too.
The pressure to invest in national defense and European cooperation is great,” says Zimmermann.
Not least because of the global systemic conflict between democracy and autocracy.