On Friday, February 13, Anna Wieslander, Director for Northern Europe, had her co-authored op-ed, “The US wants a Europe-led NATO. Europeans should start planning it,” published in Euractiv.
In the article, Wieslander and Rachel Ellehuus, Director-General of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), argues that Europe must urgently take action to strengthen its defence capabilities, rather than “muddle through the Trump years until a new administration restores American engagement in the alliance.”
“An action-oriented process could start immediately and move along three major lines”, they write:
First, allies should review the regional plans for the defence of Europe through the lens of how to execute them with less – or no – American support.
Second, the shifting operational capacity must be paired with command reform that allows for credible European leadership.
Third, the European nuclear pillar in NATO should be strengthened.
The op-ed was published ahead of the Munich Security Conference, where, according to Wieslander and Ellehuus, European leaders must “move beyond talk and get to work.”
Read the full article here:
Further reading
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