NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg called on member states to unite.
A German minister has called on Britain and France to form a “nuclear shield” against Russia.according to protectorChristian Lindner suggested after Donald Trump spoke on Saturday that he would not defend any NATO member that failed to spend 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense and let Russia “Do whatever it takes for Russia to do what it wants.” Linde’s comments sparked a debate in European countries about how to bolster defenses if Trump wins the November presidential election.
“Under what political and financial conditions are Paris and London prepared to maintain or expand their respective collective security strategic capabilities?” German Finance Minister Lindner published an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
“When it comes to peace and freedom in Europe, we cannot shy away from these difficult questions,” he further said in the article.
Britain and France are the only two countries in Europe with nuclear forces, and although they are both in NATO, they still maintain control of their nuclear weapons.
France keeps its nuclear deterrent outside the NATO command structure, but President Emmanuel Macron has offered to cooperate with Europe on nuclear defence.
Tom Saul of the University of Antwerp told German news outlet database France should “Europeanize” its nuclear capabilities. “The French have now said that if Europe’s security interests are threatened, our nuclear weapons could be helpful… Macron has said this, all previous presidents have said this,” he added.
Sauer said France acquired nuclear weapons in 1960 but the rest of the EU has historically been lukewarm Tell database.
Trump’s comments came as EU politicians worried they might not be able to count on the United States if President Joe Biden loses the November election.
“Judging from Donald Trump’s recent comments, we can no longer count on this,” European Parliament Vice President Catarina Baally told Germany’s Der Spiegel.
Spending by NATO’s European allies will increase by 11% in 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a press conference ahead of the meeting on Wednesday.
“NATO’s whole philosophy is that an attack on one ally will trigger a reaction across the Alliance. As long as we collectively support this message, we can prevent any military attack on any ally,” he stressed.
