Europe must stand on its own two feet
Trump previously talked about why the United States should protect NATO allies that do not meet the goals of the defense alliance, i.e., do not spend at least two percent of GDP on defense spending. Although the previous US president rejected rumors that Washington would withdraw from the alliance, leading politicians across Europe have raised their heads.
In its article, Politico also stated that the United States has practically guaranteed the security of Europe since the end of the Second World War.
The newspaper pointed out that the American legislature accepted the amendment that Washington cannot withdraw from NATO without their approval. “This is a comfort to Europeans,” the author wrote. Although Trump would hardly want to leave NATO, the security situation in Europe has changed significantly as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and there are more and more signs that the continent has not worked much on its own defense in recent years. Politico also pointed out that Europe also relies on Washington for nuclear deterrence, despite the British and French having their own warheads.
“America First”
How would it affect Europe if Trump were to put the interests of his own country, the United States, first in every way? According to Politico, Brussels is already preparing to impose tariffs on the European Union if the Republican politician wins the presidential election.
The former president has made no secret of his plans to revive the “America First” program, the Brussels paper wrote.
If such a measure were to take place, it would mostly affect those countries that significantly reduced or completely severed their economic relations with Russia after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Since then, several governments have sided with the United States in the case of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports: according to statistical data, the Western superpower is responsible for about 50 percent of all European LNG imports, which is a much higher value than before the war.
Can Trump break the unity of Europe?
Politico clearly does not take kindly to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s good relationship with Trump, and even the author of the article admits that there is a high chance of a right-wing turn in the European Parliament (EP) on June 9. However, it is interesting that Trump, who is playing politics overseas, is seen as a much bigger threat.
The experts speaking to the newspaper came up with scenarios such as, for example, the Republican politician will be able to put pressure on European countries to change their Ukraine policy.
Tags: Trumps victory downright terrifying Europe
