Thursday, June 1st., 2017
Last
week's cooling between the US and the EU, exacerbated by Angela
Merkel's call on fellow Europeans to "take their fate into their own
hands," have been widely seen as signs of discord in NATO. For lesser
NATO member states it may become inevitable to take sides.
Earlier
this week, German Social Democrat Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel added
fuel to the fire by claiming that NATO has been "weakened" and accused
the US of acting "to the detriment of the EU's interests," including
selling weapons to Saudi Arabia.
For dutiful NATO member Norway, the frictions within the alliance are
indeed bad news. The Norwegian is heavily supported by the US at the
same time when Oslo is stepping up its cooperation with fellow Nordic
countries.
According
to him, there are no indications that NATO is about to break down any
time soon. Nevertheless, he argued that Norway should keep a close eye
on the situation.
"It is not true that an EU army is ready to take over should NATO be falling apart," Kate Hansen Bundt said, stressing the problems surrounding the strengthening of the pan-EU military cooperation. "When the Brits leave, the biggest obstacle disappears. On the other hand, though, Britain is one of NATO's strongest military forces, which is why they'll take away much of what is needed to build a strong defense," she added.
Nor does Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor of political science at the University of Oslo believe that the EU-US alliance is about to break up.
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"We are totally integrated with the US. The US
is and remains the only allied country capable of offering any special
support. This is the reality of realpolitik," Karsten Friis, a
researcher from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI),
told the Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen.
"How things are today is one thing, but how
things will evolve is another. A security policy oriented on Europe is
becoming increasingly important in the years to come," Karsten Friis
said, advocating a closer Nordic cooperation, as well as closer ties
with Germany. According to Friis, the US and Europe may develop
different priorities, which may prompt closer integration in Europe,
which Norway would gladly join.
According to Kate Hansen Bundt, Secretary-General of the Norwegian
Atlantic Committee, Angela Merkel's sharp words rather reflected her
annoyance after three days with Donald Trump than a new political
reality."It is not true that an EU army is ready to take over should NATO be falling apart," Kate Hansen Bundt said, stressing the problems surrounding the strengthening of the pan-EU military cooperation. "When the Brits leave, the biggest obstacle disappears. On the other hand, though, Britain is one of NATO's strongest military forces, which is why they'll take away much of what is needed to build a strong defense," she added.
Nor does Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor of political science at the University of Oslo believe that the EU-US alliance is about to break up.
"If there is an attack on a European country,
the Americans will be there [to defend]," Janne Haaland Matlary said.
Nevertheless, he emphasized the drastic need of boosting EU defense
expenditure to be able to tackle Europe's own problems, even if the US
remains a "major deterrent force." "It is obvious that Europeans cannot
continue as free passengers," Janne Haaland Matlary said.
The EU military cooperation is still facing a number of problems,
though. Today, the EU's defense industry is exempt from the common rules
of free competition, and a number of EU member states retain protective
legislature to prevent the loss of jobs.Never miss a story again — sign up to our Telegram channel and we'll keep you up to speed!