The continent radically underinvests in security, and that has to change, the vice president has said
Europe cannot remain a “permanent security vassal” of the US, Vice President J.D. Vance has said, stressing that this arrangement is not beneficial for either side.
His comments come at time of geopolitical tensions between the US and Europe on a number of issues, including the Ukraine conflict, while the administration of US President Donald Trump demands that other NATO members drastically increase their defense spending.
In an interview with UnHerd on Monday, Vance voiced frustration over Europe’s approach to security, arguing that the topic has long been a blind spot for the region. “The reality is – it’s blunt to say it, but it’s also true – that Europe’s entire security infrastructure, for my entire life, has been subsidized by the United States of America.”
At present, he continued, only three European nations – the UK, France, and Poland – have self-sustained militaries. “In some ways, they’re the exceptions that prove the rule, that European leaders have radically underinvested in security, and that has to change.”
I certainly recognize, that it’s not in Europe’s interest, and it’s not in America’s interest, for Europe to be a permanent security vassal of the United States.
The Trump administration has been pushing European nations to invest more in their militaries since Trump’s first term, arguing that the US is shouldering the main burden. In 2014, NATO members pledged to increase their defense spending to 2% of GDP, though some are still struggling to reach this.
In February, Trump suggested that NATO members should consider spending as much as 5% of GDP on defense, later warning that “if they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them.”
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NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte agreed that Trump is right to demand that European members step up defense spending amid tensions with Russia.
Numerous Western officials have speculated that Russia could attack European NATO members within a few years. Moscow has dismissed the claim as “nonsense,” saying it has no interest in doing so.
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