The transatlantic partnership has faced a series of unprecedented impacts since the current U.S. administration took office.

A recent article in the U.S.-based Foreign Policy magazine noted that Donald Trump's attitude towards Washington's oldest ally has been contradictory: he wants Europe to spend more on defense but hits the European economy with tariffs; he wants to withdraw U.S. assets from Europe but also seeks to take over Greenland; he wants Europe to buy American weapons but threatens to withdraw critical technology and logistical support for these weapons.

All this has left Europe confused and forced it to reach a consensus on the need to quickly achieve "defense decoupling" from the United States and seek "strategic autonomy."

△Screenshot of an article in the U.S. Foreign Policy magazine

However, it remains unclear how far Europe can achieve strategic autonomy due to differences among countries in terms of priorities, economic interests, and paths to defense autonomy.

"The U.S. must be involved in some way"

The "Volunteer Coalition," led by Britain and France with the aim of providing security guarantees for Ukraine, held a defense ministers' meeting involving over 30 member states at NATO headquarters in Brussels on the 10th. The meeting discussed what kind of support related countries could provide to enhance Ukraine's defensive capabilities in the event of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

This was the first time the coalition had convened a defense ministers' meeting.

Although British Defense Secretary Healey called on coalition members to ensure they were "fully prepared for peace talks," Latvian Defense Minister Spruz also stated that Europe was capable of shouldering the responsibility of supporting Ukraine, most countries still harbored doubts about the plan.

Finnish Defense Minister Hekkanen emphasized that ensuring Ukraine's security cannot be done without the U.S. "From Finland's perspective, we believe that the U.S. remains the key player in ensuring long-term security for (Ukraine)."

Swedish Defense Minister Jonsson also believed that the successful resolution of the Ukraine issue would require "some form of U.S. involvement."

Dutch Defense Minister Brekelmans said that U.S. support was "very important," but the form of support might differ depending on the type of actions Europe chose to take in Ukraine.

△AP News report screenshot (image shows Ukrainian Defense Minister Umehrov at the conference)

According to AFP reports, after the meeting ended that day, only six countries - the UK, France, Sweden, and the three Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - committed to sending troops to Ukraine after hostilities between Russia and Ukraine ended. Most other "supporters of Ukraine" were unwilling to make any commitments.

△Screenshot of a report by RT website

This can be seen as the latest example of divisions among European countries regarding their support for Ukraine.

Previously, at the special EU summit on March 6 and the spring EU summit on March 20, Hungary vetoed proposals to continue military aid to Ukraine twice in a row, resulting in both summits having to separately release statements signed only by 26 member states (the EU has 27 member states) to further support Ukraine.

In terms of the scale of military aid to Ukraine, the differences are even greater.

At last month's EU foreign ministers' meeting, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell proposed increasing this year's EU military aid to Ukraine to 40 billion euros, which was opposed by Italy, Spain, Hungary, and several other countries.

△Screenshot of EuroNews report (left image is High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell)

"Where do we get our defense budget?"

Since the Trump administration came to power, whether it was bypassing Europe to directly negotiate with Russia on resolving the Ukraine crisis, demanding that Europe significantly increase its defense spending and take responsibility for protecting Ukraine, or imposing tariffs on Europe, all these have made Europe increasingly realize that it has been abandoned by the U.S.

It is precisely because of this that major countries like France and Germany have continuously called for Europe to strengthen its strategic autonomy.

French President Macron emphasized the importance of enhancing Europe's defense capabilities again in a TV address last month: "Our eight-year advocacy of European collective defense can finally be realized. European countries will be ready to protect themselves, produce the equipment they need together within Europe, and be ready to strengthen cooperation and reduce dependence on other regions. This is a good thing."

△Screenshot of French Foreign Ministry's social media

German incoming Chancellor Merz reiterated at a press conference held after completing the formation of his cabinet on the 9th that Germany would increase defense spending.

According to the constitutional amendment formally signed by German President Steinmeier, the German government will relax the debt ceiling set in the constitution in specific areas, allowing new debt for defense, civil defense, intelligence agencies, and cyber security construction, etc.

Merz spoke at the time, calling this reform "an important first step towards a European defense community."

△Screenshot of "European Dynamics" news website

In order to further achieve European defense autonomy, the EU released the "European Defense White Paper" and the "Plan to Re-arm Europe" last month, also relaxing restrictions in terms of finance and debt, to encourage member states to allocate more funds for defense expenditures.

However, the EU still faces many difficulties in how to raise military funds and balance the fiscal interests of various countries.

Zdenek Rod, a scholar at West Bohemia University in the Czech Republic, said that the current debt levels of EU member states are very high, so the question of "where we get money for defense spending" is a big one.

"Europeans enjoy high welfare benefits, so we must find a balance between security and welfare. You can raise taxes, but I think this is not popular in most European countries. If you don't want to raise taxes or borrow more, the only way is to cut certain items in the national budget."

△Screenshot of EuroNews report

In fact, the "Plan to Re-arm Europe" also faced opposition from France, Italy, and Spain, the EU's major countries, because they already bear heavy debts and are unwilling to increase financial pressure.

An article titled "Thanks to Trump, Europe's Strategic Autonomy Faces a Critical Moment" published by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, pointed out that since the U.S., under the leadership of Trump, is no longer regarded as a reliable ally, Europe is taking action toward common defense. However, this is not easy and will not happen overnight.

"Many questions remain unanswered—especially, what form this 'European strategic autonomy' will take and what level of European sovereignty we are discussing."

△Screenshot of Lowy Institute's website article

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493050460681683506/

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