The president of CIDOB and former high representative of the European Union for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, He has assured that replacing the United States in NATO would mean an increase in defense spending to Member States of 250,000 million euros a year. He has said this Monday at 40 gathered Cercle d’Economia, which is held until Wednesday in The Palau de Congresos de Cataluña.
“Expensive, possible, necessary. It is not going to be done tomorrow, but better start it today “Borrell said, which has detailed that to replace the military territorial deployment of the United States It would be necessary to equip 50 brigades and deploy 100,000 men, although he has nuanced that this figure would have to be double due to the fragmentation of European armies.
Has warned that if it is not invested in a coordinated manner in the EU in defense, it will continue having “an inoperative and non -interoperable conglomerate” and the same duplications of capacities and deficiencies.
“There will be no unanimity to build a European NATO, a ‘Europe of Defense”
Josep Borrell, I exalt representative of La EU for foreign policy
On the other hand, he has encouraged that “if we are really concerned about the ‘defense Europe’, that those who want to do it do, And Germany wants to do it “, while insisting that if there is no coordination between European countries, money will be thrown.
He recalled that defense is a competence of the Member States, not of the European Union, and has ruled out that the EU will develop a common defense because it requires unanimity: “There will be no unanimity to build a European NATO, a ‘Europe of Defense’. My advice is to stop looking for a solution where there is no, ”he added.
He has criticized that the European Commissioner for Defense, Andrius Kubilius, ask Spain to spend 3% in defense: “I wonder what authority he speaks. Who has given a candle on this burial? Who is you to say that a Member State has to spend the 2, 3 or X?”, Has reproached Borrell.
What can happen with the US and NATO
Among the possible scenarios that are handled regarding the continuity or not of the US in NATO, Borrell has assured that it would be A “chaotic withdrawal” And very harmful to Europe, since the interoperability of armies would be lost, and has put as the worst example, than The US did not collaborate based on article 5 of NATO, known as the collective defense clause.
He has also claimed that the worst of all cases It would be an agreement between the United States and Russia “to sacrifice Europe”, And he added that that is why what happens in Ukraine is so important, since he will determine, in his opinion, the limits of the Atlantic Alliance.
He has defended that Europe has “sufficient capacity to exist in a world where there is no confrontation” Between the United States and Russia, and has reiterated that depending on how the war in Ukraine ends it will be decisive for the geopolitical balances of the European continent.
Finally, Borrell has asked the same question as the vast majority of European citizens: Europe will be able to replace the United States If President Donald Trump decides to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, And he has assured that “from the financial point of view it should not be a problem.”
“The problem is that People do not fight with bank tickets, go with weapons. A soldier does not go to a trench with a bag of tickets, he goes with weapons. And the transition between money and the weapon means industry and time, “he has alerted, which he considers that this would be one of the big problems that Europe would face in this scenario.
