Phil NijhuisDe Hoop Scheffer during a debate in 2019
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:07
It is right that European leaders condemn former President Trump’s comments about NATO, but his statements also force European member states to ask each other difficult questions. This is what Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former Secretary General of NATO, says in conversation with Radio 1 of the Flemish public broadcaster VRT. He sees reason to quickly start discussions about the inadequate defense expenditure.
Trump said at a campaign rally last weekend that Russia is free to attack NATO countries if they do not spend enough money on defense. His statements caused great outrage within NATO. The White House called his suggestion a danger to global stability and European government leaders also condemned Trump’s suggestion as completely irresponsible.
In conversation with the Flemish radio, De Hoop Scheffer also spoke about “irresponsible statements”. “But we also have to see in Europe within NATO what we European allies are going to do about it,” he says. Although he criticizes Trump for undermining NATO’s credibility, he thinks the statements can have a positive consequence if they force Europe to think about its own security.
‘He doesn’t get it, but he’s right’
Moreover, American resentment over inadequate defense budgets within the alliance is not new, he says. “President Biden says that too, predecessors Obama and Bush also said that. And they have a point there. Trump is right there too. He doesn’t understand how it works, but he is right that we are expected to pay for our own defense .And we don’t do that.”
In 2014, NATO countries agreed to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. Only about a third of the alliance currently meets this requirement. The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, for example, are also below the standard.
The former NATO chief believes that the great outrage over Trump’s statements is justified. “I am also indignant. I just don’t hear enough: what are we going to do? Are we going to create a pillar, a pillar, within NATO? Are we going to coordinate our defense industry? Where exactly are the shortages? How do we involve the British with us?”, he raises some questions that he believes the Member States should discuss.
‘Bell for EU sounds loud’
And according to De Hoop Scheffer, the need for this is great, with a possible new Trump presidency in the short term. “He will no longer have to be re-elected, so he can go about his business even more strangely than in his first term. He can surround himself with people who only nod yes and who only want to please the great Emperor Trump.”
Also in the context of the war in Ukraine, De Hoop Scheffer warns that European NATO member states have homework, because if the US puts an end to support for Ukraine, Europe will have to absorb this.
“Because if Putin wins that war, Europe as you and I have known it for years will no longer exist. I have never in my life heard the bell in Europe sound as loud as it is sounding now.”
2024-02-13 12:07:43
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