Following the events that have taken place in the United States over the past month, the idea of creating a European defense alliance has become more relevant in case NATO fails and our partners across the Atlantic do not come to our aid.
Europe has long relied on the defense of its American partners, but the current unpredictability of the White House’s policy may call into question the decades-old security guarantees.
This situation is creating a growing sense of impunity on the part of Russia, which has never been afraid of the international community’s opinion before, and now feels even more confident. Today, there is no guarantee that Washington will respond under Article 5 of the Alliance’s charter if Putin wants to commit aggression against the Baltic states under the pretext of harassing Russian speakers. Or with regard to Poland, demanding a “Polish corridor” through Suwalki to “blockaded Kaliningrad.” Indeed, Russia has never had such a convenient chance to attack Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, or Poland as it does now, against the backdrop of the current statements from Washington. Putin can easily take this as a chance that should not be missed, given the age of the Russian tyrant.
No one is sure that instead of a decisive response, the alternative will not be negotiations with the aggressor, appeals from victims of aggression to compromise, or some economic agreement with an asterisk on rare earth metals, which, by the way, are much more abundant in Poland than in Ukraine, ranking 14th in the world.
European state leaders must take care of the security of their citizens without the false hope that they will be helped in the event of a potential Russian invasion. Therefore, it is time to form a new, backup military alliance on the continent. Everyone understands that the NATO umbrella may soon be gone, and that is why new security alliances should be formed.
Friedrich Merz, leader of the center-right CDU/CSU alliance and potential future German Chancellor, said he wants Europe to be “independent” from the United States and expressed concern about the future of NATO. According to him, the Americans are less and less interested in the fate of Europe, which is forcing Germany to reconsider its defense policy. Merz expressed doubts about the future existence of NATO and the prospects for its preservation in its current format. “I’m very interested to see how we are heading to the NATO summit at the end of June – whether we will still be talking about NATO in its current form or whether we will have to create an independent European defense capability much faster,” the future German Chancellor said.
It is significant that Ukraine would be a desirable and even key participant in such a potential security alliance, since today only Ukrainians have stopped the so-called “second army of the world,” while some major powers have already capitulated to it morally. Ukraine is of strategic importance in the event of a potential Russian attack on Poland or the Baltic states. No successful European defense campaign against a Russian invasion is possible without Ukraine.
A potential security alliance between Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic states, and Finland could be the core of a broader European defense union. Today, the entire European continent is facing a threat that requires decisive solutions. And if anyone in Europe still thinks that Russia is only a problem for Ukraine, it is time to wake up before the air raid sirens wake them up.
