“Only an ally can wish for another ally to become stronger. That’s not what an opponent of Europe would say,” Tusk argued.
Since his first term, Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from the military alliance, insisting that European countries invest more in defense rather than relying on the United States to fill the gap in defense spending. defense.
Three years after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday chastised Europe in Davos for its poor defense spending while the war on its doorstep rages on indefinitely. The United States is the largest donor of civil and military aid to Ukraine, although Europe, in total, gives more.
Tusk said Poland, which has become the frontline of NATO and the European Union since Russia’s invasion in 2022, has increased its own defense spending to move closer to the 5 target. %.
Some EU countries, notably Germany, have also rejected joint defense borrowing. To countries reluctant to increase defense liquidity and oppose joint borrowing via Eurobonds, Tusk said: “I’ll be honest with you, the method we are going to choose is not that important to finance pan-European defense projects. “There is something more important and we should say it loud and clear: there is no alternative, there is no choice.”
He has repeatedly called on Europe to take charge of its own security, while mentioning former US President John F. Kennedy.
“Don’t ask America what it can do for our security. Ask what we can do for our own security,” Tusk advised lawmakers.
