All articles tagged with #european strategic autonomy
NATO leaders gather in Ankara to address US–Europe tensions, defence gaps, and continued support for Ukraine, as Trump threatens to pull the US from NATO and the Pentagon moves troops from Germany; Europeans push for more defence investment and autonomy, while acknowledging the US remains key, with IISS estimating replacing core US capabilities could cost about $1 trillion and take a decade to achieve.
The Iran strikes in 2026 exposed deep fractures in the US–European partnership: Europe resisted U.S. basing demands and warned of imperial overreach, while Washington threatened economic retaliation. Unlike 2003, the current crisis shows Washington seeking less European input, prompting Europe to lean on its own tools — a €90 billion Ukraine debt package, anti-coercion trade options and intensified deterrence planning — signaling that Europe may pursue strategic autonomy even as it remains partially dependent on U.S. security in some areas. The episode echoes past Suez-era lessons but in reverse, suggesting the transatlantic bargain is giving way to a parallel, not a renewed, alliance as Europe recalibrates its role on the world stage.
At the Rome intergovernmental summit, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a German-Italian Action Plan to bolster EU strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness—especially in the automotive sector—while expanding cooperation on defence, energy, and migration; they issued seven bilateral understandings and two key agreements, reaffirmed NATO unity and support for Ukraine, tied EU external policy to Africa via Meloni's Mattei Plan, and urged a green transition that preserves technological neutrality rather than mandating an electric-only propulsion path.