Europe will need up to 10 years to replace US military forces with its own - Financial Times
The largest European countries are developing plans to gradually take on more responsibility for the defence of the continent instead of the United States.
This was written by the Financial Times, Censor.NET reports citing Suspilne.
According to the publication, this includes a proposal by the administration of US President Donald Trump to transfer these responsibilities to European states over the next five to ten years.
The discussions are an attempt to avoid chaos in the event of a unilateral US withdrawal from NATO, which has become a subject of concern due to Trump's repeated threats to weaken or withdraw from the transatlantic alliance that has defended Europe for almost eight decades.
The UK, France, Germany and Nordic countries are among the states involved in these informal but structured discussions, according to four European officials involved in the process. Their goal is to develop a plan to shift financial and military burdens to European capitals and present it to the United States before the annual NATO leaders' summit in June.
The proposal will include clear commitments to increase European defence spending and military capabilities to persuade Trump to agree to a gradual transfer that would allow the US to focus more on Asia.
It is emphasised that the United States, which spends more on defence than all other NATO allies combined, is indispensable to Europe's security. In addition to its nuclear deterrent, which protects Europe with the participation of several European air forces armed with American nuclear weapons, the United States provides military capabilities that are not available to continental allies, operates air, naval and military bases, and maintains 80,000 troops in Europe.
Officials estimate that it would take five to ten years of increased spending to reach a level that would replace most US military capabilities (with the exception of nuclear deterrence).
"Increased spending is the only possible strategy: sharing the burden and reducing dependence on the US. We have started these negotiations, but the task is so large that many feel overwhelmed," said one official.
While U.S. diplomats have reassured their European counterparts that Trump remains committed to NATO membership and its fifth article on collective defence, many European capitals fear that the White House could quickly reduce troop or equipment deployments or reduce participation in NATO's joint missions.
