European allies push back against US-led NATO VIP club
Por Victor Jack, Laura Kayali — War in Ukraine – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — Some NATO allies are resisting a U.S. effort to set up a close-knit group of alliance countries ostensibly based on their defense spending, arguing the initiative risks undermining unity just when Russia steps up its hybrid campaign in Europe.
The frustration comes after POLITICO reported that Washington had met a select group of favored allies twice since the spring in what has been dubbed the “Bergen Group,” after the collective’s first meeting in the eponymous Norwegian city earlier this year.
So far, the group’s members have included Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands. After meeting in Bergen, the U.S. organized a similar meeting on the sidelines of the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara in July, which Denmark and Turkey also attended. Members of the group are expected to meet again in Poland next month.
That’s riling some of NATO’s excluded members — a broad group that includes nuclear-armed U.K. and France and countries like the three Baltic nations, which are among the alliance’s highest defense spenders.
The scheme risks dividing allies and hampering alliance unity, according to three NATO diplomats and two European defense officials, all of whom were granted anonymity to speak freely on the sensitive issue.
“We believe speaking with a coherent voice as NATO and allies is crucial, especially in this moment,” said one of the NATO diplomats. “Anything that puts allies into categories — ‘bad’ vs ‘good’ — is not really useful, and it does not cement unity.”
“Discussions on the future of NATO and on the future of European security should remain within NATO,” added one of the European defense officials. “If there is a war, we will need all the countries.”
The move reflects a broader pattern of U.S. pressure aimed at forcing allies to align with its foreign policy goals and spend more on defense under President Donald Trump. Washington has indirectly tied spending levels to U.S. troop presence in Europe and formulated something akin to a “naughty and nice list” of allies after some refused to back the Iran war.
A third high-ranking European defense official said the group was “focused heavily on purchases of U.S. equipment and a desire to promote” the American defense industrial base the last time it met, but shrugged off being excluded. “We also sometimes hold meetings inside NATO … no big deal,” they said.
Oana Lungescu, a longtime former NATO spokesperson, suggested the group could be useful as long as it remains focused on military “capabilities, production and delivery at scale” and invites NATO representatives, as was the case during the original meeting — where officials like the alliance’s top commander U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich attended.
Some also see potential benefits. The group could be “positive” if it involves discussing how to spend more effectively on defense and harnessing countries’ comparative strengths in doing so, said the second NATO diplomat — but only if the group remains open to other entrants.
Still, “if I was from the Baltics, I admit it’s all a bit sour,” the diplomat added. “And not comforting for countries in the front line.”
The U.S. delegation to NATO didn’t respond to a request for comment by POLITICO.
Fonte: War in Ukraine – POLITICO
