The British Financial Times newspaper reported that Europe’s largest military powers are preparing plans to take on more responsibility in the continent’s defense than the USA. So what does this plan, expected to last between 5 and 10 years, involve? Europe’s largest military powers are developing plans to take on more responsibilities in the defense of the continent than the USA. According to the British Financial Times (FT), the discussions are an attempt to avoid chaos resulting from the unilateral withdrawal of the USA from NATO due to threats by President Donald Trump to weaken or leave the transatlantic alliance that has protected Europe for almost 80 years. According to four European officials on the subject, the UK, France, Germany, and Scandinavian countries are among the countries participating in informal but structured discussions. Their goal is to prepare a plan that will shift the financial and military burden to European capitals and present it to the USA before the annual leaders’ summit of NATO in The Hague in June.

FOCUS ON ASIA The proposal, as reported in FT, will include solid commitments to increase defense spending and enhance military capabilities in Europe to convince Trump to accept a gradual transition that will focus more on Asia for the USA. Despite spending more on defense than all other NATO allies combined, the USA is indispensable for Europe’s security. Aside from owning nuclear weapons carried by several European air forces and dedicated to nuclear deterrence on the continent, the USA operates air, maritime, and troop bases, and has 80,000 soldiers in Europe. Countries like Germany, France, and the UK have taken steps to increase defense spending since Trump’s election or accelerate planned increases, while the EU has made efforts to speed up its member states’ military investments. Officials said that increasing these expenditures to elevate Europe’s capabilities to a level that could replace most of the USA’s capabilities, excluding nuclear deterrence, will take an estimated 5 to 10 years. One official stated, “Increasing spending is our only card: burden-sharing and moving away from dependency on the USA. We are starting these discussions, but the task is so enormous that many are astonished by its magnitude.”