By Jorge Liboreiro
It’s been 75 years since a dozen Western nations, fearful the nascent Cold War could turn hot at any given moment and unleash absolute catastrophe, came together to sign the Washington Treaty and found the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. NATO, as it came to be known, was a bold experiment that compelled its members to take a massive leap of faith and trust that, in the event one fell under attack, the others would come to its rescue. Nothing signifies this conviction as the fact that six years after being created, NATO granted membership to West Germany, a country still coming to terms with the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime.
Fast forward to 2024 and the alliance is larger, stronger and arguably prouder than it has ever been.
“In the beginning, we had 12 members. Today we are 32. So we must be doing something right!” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during the celebratory event that took place in Brussels.
The occasion featured speeches from the foreign ministers of the countries that joined in the past two decades, symbolising the treaty’s “open door policy,” which Ukraine’s membership application has thrust back to the very fore of the debate.
“When NATO was founded, my country, Poland, was trapped on the wrong side,” said Radosław Sikorski. “Unfortunately Russia is on the march again but happily we are where we belong, in the company of democracies, among friends at home, resisting again, like a rock. Let’s prevail again.”
Even Hungary’s Péter Szijjártó, a firebrand who has repeatedly inveighed against Western consensus, had glowing words to share. “We are a proud member of the world’s strongest defence alliance and we’re proud to be a reliable ally,” he said.
The celebration served as a rebuke to the sceptics and naysayers who had spared no efforts in ridiculing the alliance as obsolete, dysfunctional, useless and “brain dead.” Thursday’s message was resounding: after going through the Cold War, Bosnia, Kosovo, 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, ISIS and more, NATO is still standing.
But where does it go from here? That’s a question much harder to answer, at least convincingly.
Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine allowed NATO to re-assert its common might and deterrence value, so much so that Finland and Sweden quickly ditched their traditional policies of neutrality and requested to join. Why risk being the Kremlin’s next target when you can be part of an alliance based on collective defence, the thinking went. NATO was not just desirable – it was indispensable.
But while Putin injected political momentum and boosted public relations, he also exposed the many shortcomings that had lain hidden in the absence of conflict. Most members had become complacent and indulgent, leaving their armies woefully under-funded and under-resourced. The security umbrella of the United States was taken for granted as war in the continent seemed unthinkable. Defence was a third-rate priority on the agenda, if it was on the agenda at all.
As a result, we now have the world’s wealthiest nations in an awkward scramble to supply Ukraine with basic ammunition, keep up their own stocks and fix long-ignored industrial bottlenecks. The struggle became apparent this week as the 75th anniversary was overshadowed by a proposal from Stoltenberg to establish a $100 billion fund to provide Kyiv with predictable military assistance.
The plan, which was leaked to the press, immediately raised eyebrows. Where should so much money come from? Will it mix bilateral and collective aid? Will it take into account previous commitments? Will it be all for equipment or also training and maintenance? The answers never came and Stoltenberg became visibly uncomfortable with each passing question.
“I cannot go into the details of the proposals. I have seen that you have been extensively briefed, but not by me,” he told journalists seeking information.
Unlike the European Union, which is endowed with robust regulatory and enforcement powers, NATO is intrinsically inter-governmental, meaning it cannot oblige countries to pool money into a $100 billion fund and punish those who refuse. Let’s be honest: if that were the case, all 32 members would today meet the key goal of devoting at least 2% of GDP to defence expenditure.
What NATO can do is promise, as it did 75 years ago when it promised the 12 founding members that an armed attack against one or more “shall be considered an attack against them all.” It’s that capacity to fulfil promises that will likely determine how the alliance handles its present and determines its future.
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| | |  THE PLOT THICKENS
Have you heard of Piepergate, the latest scandal to hit Brussels? It all began when Ursula von der Leyen nominated Markus Pieper, a German MEP from her conservative party, to become SME Envoy, a position whose monthly salary starts at a cool €17,000. That’s despite reports that he scored lower than the other two candidates who reached the final stage. MEPs are gearing up to call for Pieper’s head, alleging political favouritism, and four European Commissioners have demanded an internal review, Jack Schickler reports as he follows the latest twists and turns.
PRICEY DREAMS
If she manages to navigate all the criticism and controversies surrounding her office, von der Leyen is likely to be re-elected as Commission president for another five years. She has made it clear that defence would be one of her top priorities, a reflection of the geopolitical shift unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But strengthening the bloc’s military might won’t come easy or cheap.
HOW EUROPE FEELS
Here are more insights from our exclusive Euronews/Ipsos poll: about 40% of Europeans approve of the bloc’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the common purchase of vaccines, while 28% disapprove. However, the European Commission gets the cold shoulder as 63% of respondents either view its work negatively or have no opinion. And on enlargement, respondents tend to back Ukraine’s bid but clearly oppose Turkey’s. |
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