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Most Western assistance to Ukraine, including weapons and training, has come from individual NATO member states. But without the alliance, this support would be less coordinated and not as substantial.
Russia’s war against Ukraine shows why NATO and the EU are both essential for European security. The two offer different yet complementary models for organizing the continent’s defense.
Russia’s war in Ukraine is making neutral Finland and Sweden seriously consider joining NATO. Such membership would strengthen the alliance’s defenses and greatly increase security in the Baltic region.
NATO must double down on deterrence and collective defense to stop any Russian attacks on its territory. That may mean a return to some level of conscription among more European allies.
Transatlantic disunity and a lack of strategy over how to deal with Russia’s ultimatum is placing Europe’s security architecture at risk. The West has no choice but to put up a strong united front.
Together, the United States and Europe can modernize the post–1945 international order. This requires a strong commitment to democracy and the defense of the norms and values that define the West.
NATO struggles to respond to events falling in between the seams of collective defense, crisis management, and cooperative security. Allies should use the 2022 Strategic Concept to map out how they will deal with Russian and Chinese hybrid warfare.
The EU has long been the dominant player in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however its policy toward the country and the Western Balkans more broadly is failing. A recent vote in the UN Security Council has destroyed what was left of the union’s credibility.
The global arms control regime is disintegrating. To reverse this trend, Europe and the United States will have to find a way to engage both Russia and China.
Despite the fallout over AUKUS, France does not intend to withdraw from the Indo-Pacific. The diplomatic crisis has given President Macron a chance to make his country’s voice heard on a major geostrategic issue.
Unconvinced by the EU’s stance toward an increasingly assertive China, Australia has sidelined Europe in its approach to the Indo-Pacific. This places Canberra’s trade and diplomatic relations with Europe at risk.
Germany’s next chancellor will have to finally define Berlin’s security and defense interests. That means addressing the future of U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in the country and the desperate need to modernize Germany’s armed forces.
The military alliance forged between the United States, Australia, and the UK at the expense of France will lead to new alignments and could profoundly impact the transatlantic relationship. The United States and its European allies should know what’s at stake.
The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has left European capitals skeptical about such missions and critical of American leadership. The debacle should lead to frank discussions about NATO’s role and the EU’s defense ambitions.
Blaming NATO and the United States for the West’s failure in Afghanistan won’t help Europe establish a credible security and defense policy. Its continued absence leaves the EU’s citizens and neighborhoods vulnerable.
Illusions about the UK’s special relationship with the United States and a supposedly painless Brexit have been shed. The inability of Boris Johnson’s government to face up to that makes it impossible to define a new role for Britain in the world.
The fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban lays bare Europe’s lack of strategic foresight and dangerous dependence on the United States. The EU must address its shortcomings or risk losing the ability to defend its values and interests.
Chancellor Merkel’s last official visit to the White House holds a special political significance. President Biden has placed human rights and rule of law at the top of his agenda, just as these values are under attack from within and outside Europe.
A defining feature of Russia’s leadership is the refusal to deal with the country’s Stalinist past. Until the Kremlin stops whitewashing history, a politically stable relationship between Europe and Russia cannot exist.
At the latest NATO summit, allies jointly identified China as a systemic challenge to alliance security. But diverging views on China’s challenge among the partners hinder a consensus on NATO action.
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