As of: April 3, 2024, 10:16 a.m
By: Babett Gumbrecht
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There is no celebratory mood for NATO's 75th anniversary. The focus is on a support package for Kyiv. This is intended to be particularly lenient to Trump.
Brussels – The NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday (April 3/4). The alliance's 75th anniversary is actually supposed to be celebrated. But no party mood is expected. The focus is much more on aid for Ukraine, because the Russian war against Kiev is the biggest acid test in the history of the transatlantic alliance.
According to diplomatic circles, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wants to launch a fund worth 100 billion euros to support Ukraine. This should last five years, reports the
German Press Agency
.
Moscow has long been preparing for a conflict with NATO. © IMAGO/Artem Priakhin
Trump is putting pressure on NATO: more money must flow for defense
The package should be put together before the NATO summit in Washington in July. Currently, support for Ukraine seems more important than ever because the outcome of the war is uncertain. And the possible re-election of former US President Donald Trump could be a further test for NATO.
The ex-president caused unrest in the alliance by threatening to stop supporting allies if they did not spend enough on defense if they won the presidential election in November. He would then even encourage the Russians to do “whatever the hell they want” with them, he said a few months before the anniversary summit in Washington in July.
Stoltenberg repeats at every opportunity that “a strong NATO is good for the United States.” Thanks to the alliance, the USA has “more than 30 friends and allies”, more than any other world power, emphasizes the Norwegian. Therefore, it is “in the US national security interest to keep NATO strong.” With the planned aid package, the NATO chief could try to put Trump in a lenient mood.
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Two future scenarios for NATO: withdrawal of the USA or pressure on Europe growing
Even though the 77-year-old Trump has now qualified this as a negotiating tactic, there are still only two future scenarios for NATO: a widespread withdrawal of the USA if Trump emerges victorious from the presidential elections in November. Or at least strong pressure on Europeans to take their security into their own hands almost 80 years after the Second World War.
A withdrawal by Washington would be the “worst case scenario,” says James Black from the Rand Corporation think tank, which advises the US armed forces. Then the alliance would be de facto dead a good 75 years after its founding. Even if President Joe Biden wins the election, Black believes there is a great risk that the USA will show “less willingness to lead” in the alliance and concentrate on the conflict with China. In any case, the Europeans would have to do their best.
A final decision will not be made: the proposal requires consensus among the 32 member states
The first talks between the 32 ministers of the member states are planned for the two days. However, a final decision has not yet been made. “The foreign ministers will discuss how NATO’s support for Ukraine can best be organized in order to make it more effective, predictable and lasting,” diplomatic sources said. The financing of the fund is still being discussed. The idea is that every NATO member should contribute according to their gross domestic product.
The proposal definitely requires consensus, because all NATO decisions require the consent of all 32 member states of the alliance. The result must therefore be unanimous.
The NATO headquarters in Brussels. © Olivier Matthys/AP/dpa
Foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland are calling for a clear stance against Putin
The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Poland are calling for one thing above all on the NATO anniversary: a clear stance against Putin: They want to improve Europe's military capabilities. That means rearmament. “We must use the full industrial potential of our continent to improve our military capabilities,” wrote Annalena Baerbock, Stéphane Séjourné and Radoslaw Sikorski in a guest post on Wednesday (April 3) on the news site
Politico
.
(bg/dpa)