When NATO collapses

Following his election victory in late February, German Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz declared that he has "absolutely no illusions" that Donald Trump "pretty much no longer cares about the fate of Europe".

- ATANU BISWAS

Merz advocates for "independence" from the US instead. Merz is right, as evidenced by Trump's persistent demands that European countries raise their defence budgets and his recent feud with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. The clear takeaway since Trump's inauguration is that the US is not a trustworthy partner for intelligence, security, or trading.

During his first term in office, Trump regularly criticised the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) exorbitant costs and maintained that "European countries must contribute more to their own security". He seems committed to escalating these policies as he has regained his authority as president of America. If NATO members don't pay, the US won't defend them, Trump reiterated recently. "Doesn't make sense for America to pay for the defense of Europe," Elon Musk also wrote in X. And NATO is on the verge of collapsing.

In the post-World War II era, NATO was established with the intention of thwarting Soviet threats and preventing the spread of communism in Europe. Following the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO may not have the scope to follow its original objectives. And the US bears a disproportionate amount of the costs associated with NATO, accounting for 70% of its expenditures.

A swift, united European response to Washington's ceding of leadership and support for Ukraine is imperative. Actually, Trump's victory in the November election marked the geopolitical decision for Europe to take charge of its own defences. But can Europe really afford to defend itself without the US?