The leaders of Britain, France and Germany are burying old resentments, creating new defense partnerships. And together they keep a cautious look at their longtime ally, the United States.
In the six months when President Donald Trump shook the transatlantic alliance of decades, his peers in Europe’s most powerful countries are building parallel diplomatic and defense institutions for a future without the United States as the main guarantee of economic and military security.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Keir Strmer of Britain and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a comprehensive treaty for mutual defense, economic cooperation and other partnerships. Last week, Stmerer and President Emmanuel Macron of France agreed to coordinate their nuclear arsenals.
In May, the three traveled together by train to Ukraine in a demonstration of solidarity. Next week, Macron will visit Merz in Berlin.
The three also lead a “coalition of the willing ones” designed to support Ukraine’s struggle against Russia as American support decreases, an effort that will soon have a formal headquarters in Paris. Planning for a possible peace force led by Europe in Ukraine has been underway for months. On Friday, the European Union announced the 18th Pack of Sanctions against Russia.
“Triangular Alliance”
The “triangular alliance”, such as Britain, France and Germany are sometimes called, are already partners in NATO and G7-forums that include the United States. Authorities from the three European countries are careful in saying that institutions they are building are intended to complement these alliances, not replace them.
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But NATO is an extensive defense bureaucracy that represents 32 countries, some of which disagree with each other. Authorities in Berlin, London and Paris want a smaller and more agile group to respond to what Merz said on Thursday is a change in the relationship between Europe and the United States.
Analysts say these efforts are creating a type of system “breaks glass in an emergency” planning, discussion and action, regardless of the United States and ready to react to increasingly aggressive Russia.
The security system may never be used. But if Trump continues to move away from American commitments on the continent, having this option can become necessary.
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“Now you have a format where there is already an established practice of meetings and the forum to find,” said Minna Alander, a researcher at the Center for European Stockholm European Policy Analysis. “It is literally all children gathering and trying to find out what to do with their drunk father.”
During a press conference on Thursday, Strmer announced the “Kensington Treaty” with Germany, calling him a first bilateral pact between the two nations, while Merz hinted at the motivation for the deal.
“European security architecture and transatlantic ties are undergoing a deep transformation as we have not seen for a long time,” said the German chancellor. “And it is under these new conditions that our goal is to guarantee the freedom, security and prosperity of peoples of both our countries.”
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Reconstruct bridges
Starmer pacts with Germany and France are partly about rebuilding diplomatic and economic bridges that were burned by Brexit, the British decision to leave the European Union.
They are also an offshoot of diplomatic shock caused in February by Vice President Jd Vance, when he accused Europe of dodging democratic values and freedom of expression, and Trump’s repeated reflections on abandoning the commitment of Article 5 of defending any attacked member.
“They are not acting against the US or completely separated from the US, but they are having to make their own decisions and take responsibility for them,” said Lawrence Freedman, an emeritus professor of War Studies at King’s College London.
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“Basically, the three main defense leaders can talk to each other and ensure that their thoughts and plans are aligned,” added Freedman.
After beating the parliamentary elections in Germany in February, Merz spent his first months in office prioritizing foreign policy, hoping to reaffirm German leadership on the global stage.
With a new authority to borrow, especially for the military sector, he promised to raise German spending on defense and related infrastructure for 5% of GDP in the coming years.
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For Germany, who fought Britain, France and the United States in World War II and has spent most of the following decades satisfied with maintaining a relatively small army, the decision to rear is remarkable. This helped press other European leaders, including Macron, also promise greater defense spending.
Merz, Starmer and Macron sought to build close relationships with Trump, partly promoting their efforts to make Europe more responsible for their own defense, an old goal of the president. At the same time, they pressured Trump to keep Washington active in European security, especially supporting Ukraine.
Merz urged Trump to support new harsh sanctions to harm the Russian economy and stifle recipes that finance his war efforts, and led an initiative to provide more American weapons to Ukraine, bought with European money.
Still, Merz expressed concerns about what he and European authorities see as American threats to remove troops and weapons from the continent. These threats, including Trump’s Secretary of Defense, shook the security calculation that has supported Europe since the end of World War II: the promise that the US would lead the defense of its European allies against attacks.
Private, German authorities say that spending more on the army and working more closely on European partners is the right strategy for the present moment, regardless of what Trump and their administration can do next.
Pillars
Britain, France, and Germany “see each other increasingly as pillars of European security, in a moment of less America-or even without America in Europe,” said Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a Think Tank with offices in Western Europe and Washington.
The alliances they are building, Leonard added, “These are not institutions like NATO. But they are thinking of institutionalizing the relationship.”
Steven E. Sokol, president of the American Council in Germany, a non -profit organization, said he welcomes growing cooperation, but expressed concern that this could end up hurting Washington.
“As we overthrow the apple of the basket and removed some of our allies, they will find other partnerships,” he said about the Trump administration policy. “I wonder if in the future it will be the best interest of the United States.”
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