The European allies of the I’LL TAKE they wait expectantly in Sweden to the Secretary of State of USA, Marco Rubioin what will be the first ‘confrontation’ with a senior representative of the great transatlantic partner after the decision to Donald Trump to withdraw part of its troops from the continent. “We want a stronger NATO, where Europe plays a more relevant role, we want to guarantee peace with a solid deterrent concept,” said the German Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephulon the way to the ministerial meeting in Helsingborg (Sweden), which Rubio will join.
It is the first event at that level that Sweden hosts, a country that, together with Finland joined NATO following the Russian invasion of Ukrainerecalled his prime minister, Ulf Kristersson. Sweden, like the rest of the Nordic and Baltic partners, as well as Germany and Poland, is committed to increase military spending to 5% of GDP towards 2035. But this fidelity to Trump’s demands has not prevented Berlin and Warsaw from being the main affected by the reduction of the US military presence.
In the case of Germany, due to Trump’s decision to withdraw some 5,000 soldiers from its territory, among the total of 36,000 soldiers deployed in that country’s bases. In Poland, due to the cancellation of the sending of some 4,000 additional troops. Both allies have reacted appearing calm. For Germany it has even been embarrassing, since Trump himself made the announcement coincide with his anger at Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s statement that Iran was “humiliating” the US. Warsaw argues that everything is part of the Pentagon’s planned military strategy. Last Tuesday, a third splash of cold water was added to these touches, when the Pentagon announced that of the four Combat Brigades (BCT) assigned to Europe will be transferred to three.
Behind these announcements is Trump’s pressure for Europe to spend more on defense. The apostles of rearmamentlike Germany, affirm that this fits with their willingness to assume greater responsibility. Concretions are expected from Rubio, a moderate among Trump’s key men, a few weeks before the NATO summit that will take place in Türkiye in July.
Alarms over the Baltic
Helsingborg is weighed not only by the issue of the American withdrawal, but also by the successive alarms in recent days in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia due to the irruption of Ukrainian drones into their airspace, some of which have ended up being shot down by the allied forces in their territory. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte blames Russia for the incidents: “The Ukrainian drones are there because Ukraine must defend itself,” he says. If they enter allied airspace it is due to the action, accidental or deliberate, of Russian electronic systems, which divert them in their direction, he added.
Ukraine will be very present at the meeting in Sweden. On the table is Rutte’s intention to articulate a balanced distribution of military aid to kyiv. Already at the level of the European Union (EU), there is the proposal presented by Merz to Brussels that Ukraine is recognized as an “associate member”. That is, their leaders should be allowed to attend EU summits and other meetings, but without the right to vote. It would be a step prior to admission as a full member, Berlin argues, which cannot occur while it is at war.
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