Vance said that Europe must become more self-sufficient, reflecting the Trump administration’s broader foreign policy shift toward prioritizing American interests and encouraging allies to share the burden of collective security. He suggested European nations need to increase defense spending to about 5 percent of gross domestic product, saying some countries were too comfortable with the existing security arrangement.
Vance’s remarks aligned with the Trump administration’s push for NATO members to exceed the 2 percent GDP defense spending target, with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently advocating for spending “north of 3 percent” by the alliance’s European members. Vance reinforced the idea that a solid partnership is mutually beneficial. “I do still very much think that the United States and Europe are on the same team,” he said. “European culture and American culture are very much linked, and they’re always going to be linked.” Vance said relations between the United States and Europe are at a turning point.“I do think that we’re in one of these phases where we’re going to have to rethink a lot of big questions,” he said. (Ed note: At the start of WW2, the US Congress favored a policy of neutrality and isolationism.) (Read More)
