Defence: Europeans no longer trust the USA

The majority of Europeans say they are convinced that Europe cannot eternally count on the United States and that it must take charge of its own defense capabilities, reveals a poll carried out on Wednesday 7 June by the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR), according to Sputnik.

According to the survey, 74% of respondents believe Europe needs its own defense capabilities, up from 66% in 2020.Only 8% of poll participants believe the US will always protect Europe, compared to 11% of respondents in 2020 who said Europe need not worry about its own defense capabilities.

A further 9% hesitated to answer, with the remaining 9% responding “don't know”.The ECFR survey was conducted among citizens of nine European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden.

Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized his allies for not funding NATO enough. On the eve of the NATO meeting in July 2018, he reminded his allies of this on his Twitter account. The tone is set, in a few messages, and the theme that has haunted the man since his arrival at the White House is evoked.

“NATO members must pay more, the United States must pay less. Very unfair! “, he wrote on Tuesday, July 10, 2018 in a tweet.“Although these countries have increased their contributions since I became president, they must do more,” Trump continued.

“Many NATO countries, which we are supposed to defend, are not only below their current 2% commitment (which is low), but they are also many years behind in payments that do not have not been done. Will they reimburse the USA? “, he lamented.