Nato summit: unity and strength?
The leaders of the Nato member states are meeting today and tomorrow in The Hague. At the top of the agenda is a resolution binding all allied partners to commit 5 percent of their GDP to defence spending - 3.5 percent for weapons and troops and 1.5 percent for military infrastructure. Europe's press delves into what can be expected from the summit.
A precarious balancing act
Secretary General Mark Rutte faces the unenviable task of trying to fix the increasingly obvious cracks in the alliance, De Standaard observes:
“Mark Rutte is having to dig deep into his political bag of tricks to hold the Nato alliance together. This is producing odd constructions in which countries like Spain are granted exemptions that officially are no such thing. ... On Monday he assured Ukraine that its path to Nato was 'irreversible'. This statement highlighted once again the strange balancing act he finds himself performing, as he tries to keep all European countries on board by making vague concessions. But he is also aware that the gap between Trump and the rest of the alliance is widening and it is becoming ever more difficult to patch up the fault lines.”
Anything to stop Trump getting bored
The Kleine Zeitung observes:
“Everything in Europe is revolving around one man from America. The entire Nato summit taking place today and tomorrow in The Hague has been tailored to the wishes of US President Donald Trump. ... The fact that the critical part of the summit has been cut down to just two-and-a-half hours so that Trump doesn't get bored, and that a round of golf has been squeezed into the programme is just a side note.”
US president should see the benefits of Nato now
Trump may now be more aware of the benefits of the Nato logistics of other countries, Spotmedia notes:
“The US operation [in Iran] was a complex one that could not have been implemented without the cooperation of Nato states and the deployment of US military infrastructure on the old continent, and Donald Trump was well aware of this. ... The success of the American operation against the Iranian nuclear sites could serve to restore relations between the new US government and the EU and thus pave the way for a first round of talks about providing Ukraine with more consistent support against Russia.”
Europe in Washington's shadow
Europe is laying bare its impotence in foreign affairs, L'Opinion declares:
“In Ukraine, the Europeans have been making it clear for more than three years that they have neither the means nor the will to do what is required to shift the military balance of power in Kyiv's favour. ... Neither Brussels nor any other major European capital has any real influence on the course of events. The Nato summit will confirm this: The US is the key player. ... After the summit the European Council will strive to cut a good figure and conceal not only the differences of opinion on major geopolitical issues, but also the glaring weakness of a continent whose institutions and philosophy have not adapted to the world that is emerging.”
The battle will continue back home
In an opinion piece in 15min, political scientist Ramūnas Vilpišauskas examines the challenges that EU member states will face after the summit:
“One of these challenges is how to convince their own populations that higher defence spending is necessary - and that without security, many things that benefit society will be hard to achieve. This will be particularly difficult in countries where populist parties are critical of defence spending and are trying to exploit the supposed dichotomy between 'weapons' and 'butter' - among them Germany, which aspires to a leadership role.”
Protect social cohesion
Making Europe stronger requires more than just boosting defence spending, Volkskrant columnist Marica Luyten argues:
“Defence also requires a shared understanding of who we are collectively. Putin is attacking European societies where they are most vulnerable: in their interconnectedness. ... His hybrid war is destabilising and divisive. For Putin's new world order to emerge, the West must collapse into chaos. ... Our resilience begins with social cohesion. ... Those who allow the social fabric to fray are gambling away security in these times of hybrid war.”