The year of the resurgence of NATO and European defense

In a little over three years, the European defense agency has emerged from a “brain dead” state, as endorsed by the French president. Emmanuel MacronIn a provocative interview with the British newspaper Economist To rise from the ashes at the end of 2019 and forget the painful stage of the former US president’s tenure donald trump, His constant rudeness and attention to other allies for spending more on defense brought transatlantic relations to their lowest point since the Cold War. All analysts agree that the war in Russia upsets this reality and means a “before and after”.

The Allies made the biggest overhaul of policy of deterrence and collective defense since last year – at the Madrid summit – embracing the new strategic concept that positions Moscow as the “most important and direct threat” to Alliance security. Since the Cold War, they’ve increased the land-deployable forces from 40,000 to 300,000, strengthened the eastern flank to deter any Russian attack, and initiated the process of recruiting two new partners – until Turkey lifted its veto over the Swedes – up to Putin. the occupation had not even considered knocking on NATO’s door –Sweden and Finland– and this will further strengthen the military capabilities of the bloc. “The most obvious result of the war for the West is the resurgence of NATO. This underlined that NATO is the cornerstone of European security and that there is no alternative to alliance structures to deter Russia.” as Ian Bond and Camino Mortera-Martinez in a joint analysis European Reform Center about this last year of the war.

air for NATO

Allied Secretary General, Jens StoltenbergNote, however, that the change began before the Russian troops launched their invasion. When asked a few days ago about the impact of the war on the organization it has led since October 2014, “NATO hasn’t changed somehow. It just showed its importance.” “NATO hasn’t changed, it just showed the importance of allies staying together to both support Ukraine and protect each other, ensuring that war doesn’t “spread beyond Ukraine,” he added. According to this former Norwegian prime minister, the “biggest boost in collective defense in a generation” began the same year he started running the allied organization. Illegal annexation of Crimea to Russiaand not in February of last year when Putin carried out his threats.

“It started in 2014 and this has triggered a major adaptation of our Alliance, with more preparation, greater Alliance presence in the eastern part, more exercises and increased defense spending.” The goal is for all allies to devote 2% of GDP to military spending by 2024, but at the Vilnius leaders’ summit in July, the idea of ​​further raising ambition will be on the table. “When we meet in Vilnius this summer, we need to make a new commitment. If it was clear that we should have committed to spending 2 percent in 2014, it’s even more so now because we live in a more dangerous world,” he said. last week.

EU decisions

But if there is a structure where tipping is even more evident, it is European UnionWhile NATO remains the cornerstone of collective defense—leaders have pledged to increase defense spending by 200,000 million—it has begun to assume that it needs to coordinate more and spend better on defense. For a year there has not been a meeting between foreign ministers, defense ministers, economy ministers or European leaders without discussing the war started by Putin and its consequences on European security. An invasion that broke half a dozen taboos. The first and most obvious financing of arms purchase For third countries there was a red line until last year.

The Treaty of Europe does not allow operations with military or defense implications to be financed from the European budget, so Twenty-Seven, European Peace Support Fund (EPF) is an intergovernmental instrument donated while creating 5,000m euros for the period 2021-2027 to finance the purchase of “lethal material” and aid Kiev. Europe’s global contribution to the purchase of weapons and other supplies amounts to 12,000 million, including the special training of 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers and more supplies, especially leopard 2 tanksAnother red line for Berlin, broken by the pressure of the Ukrainian government and the support of the Baltic states and Poland.

The occupation also did what the 2015 Syrian war failed to do, when millions of people fled the country to mainland Europe. As soon as the citizens of Ukraine began to flee from the Russian attacks, the Twenty-Sevens European Directive on Temporary ProtectionAn unused ordinance adopted in 2001 following the war in the Balkans and the displacement of more than 3.2 million people. The norm entitles Ukrainians to a residence permit, education or vocational training, adequate housing, social assistance, financial support and medical care for at least one year – although it can be extended to three years. According to United Nations data, there are more than 8 million Ukrainian refugees settled in Europe and 4.8 million people seeking international protection today.

This sanctions policy Initiated by Twenty-seven, it broke other taboos unimaginable a year ago. The first, and despite initial resistance from countries like Germany, disconnecting Russian banks from the Swift communication system, which facilitates the sending or receiving of international payments and is connected to 11,000 financial institutions from 200 countries. To prevent the Kremlin from continuing to finance the war machine, the EU has imposed restrictions and bans on all kinds of exports and imports with Russia, especially on technological products, and this includes restrictions on Russian hydrocarbons, including bans on any transactions with the Russian central bank, and even Russia. or the possibility of using the interest on the frozen assets to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine, which in just a few months managed to overcome another hurdle that was unthinkable before the war: obtaining candidate status for the EU. .