(Bloomberg) – Billionaire Elon Musk supported the US departure from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), stating on its social media platform that “it makes no sense to America to pay for the defense of Europe.”
US President Donald Trump’s senior counselor was responding to an X post at the beginning of Sunday that he said the US should “leave NATO now!”
“We really owe,” said Tesla Inc.
On March 3, Musk wrote in X that he agreed with a conservative commentator’s suggestion that the US should leave both the NATO and the United Nations.
Musk’s comments take place at a time when the future of the North Atlantic Treaty organization, which will turn 76 in April, is at stake.
NBC reported on March 6 that Trump had discussed with advisers the possibility of calibrating US engagement with NATO in a way that would favor alliance members who spend a certain percentage of their GDP in defense.
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Speaking of reporters on the same day, Trump said he informed NATO allies that if they are not paying their bills, he will not defend them.
“It’s common sense, right?” Trump told reporters in the oval hall. “If they don’t pay, I won’t defend them. No, I won’t defend them. ”
Within NATO, Europe – which has disappeared largely after the Cold War – depends on the US for communications, intelligence and logistics, as well as strategic military leadership and firepower.
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European Union leaders gathered in Brussels for an emergency summit last week to massively increase defense spending.
Officers discussed a European Commission proposal that includes up to € 150 billion ($ 162.5 billion) on loans to member states for defense, as well as plans to allow countries to use their national budgets to potentially spend € 650 billion in defense over four years without triggering budget penalties.
“In recent weeks, we have seen what I would call a rather turbulent development,” EU’s defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius told Bloomberg TV on Friday. “It is not yet clear which one will, after all, the American strategy.”
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According to a 2023 law, a president cannot unilaterally withdraw from the alliance without a two -thirds supermarket in the Senate or an act of Congress.
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