This has frequently resulted in an absurd situation where Washington loudly insists that Europe do more on defense but then strongly objects when Europe’s political union-the European Union-tries to answer the call. Since the 1990s, the United States has typically used its effective veto power to block the defense ambitions of the European Union. This is not just a European failure it is also fundamentally a failure of America’s post-Cold War strategy toward Europe-a strategy that remains virtually unchanged since the 1990s.Įurope’s dependence on the United States for its security means that the United States possesses a de facto veto on the direction of European defense. Europe’s military strength today is far weaker than the sum of its parts. But Europe does not act as one on defense, even though it formed a political union almost 30 years ago. The level of Europe’s defense spending and the size of its collective forces in uniform should make it a global power with one of the strongest militaries in the world. The state of European defense is not strong.
0 kommentar(er)
