Four Crises Have U.S.-Europe Security at a Turning Point
French submarines, a German election, Nord Stream 2 and the Afghanistan fiasco together are the biggest hurdle for NATO since the early 1990s.
Capitaine Macron takes the helm.
Photographer: Fred Tanneau/AFP/Getty Images
The forces driving European defense are in flux, with four key variables affecting the way the continent’s leading nations engage not only their own security, but the entire world’s. Taken together, this is the most significant set of issues the transatlantic security alliance has seen since the early 1990s.
The first is the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany. Second, there is this week’s German election, and the political alignments of the various potential governing coalitions. Additionally, France is angry following Australia’s decision to cancel a major diesel submarine purchase in favor of a U.S.-U.K. coalition to provide nuclear boats. Finally, the U.S. collapse in Afghanistan has shaken confidence in the value of America’s commitments.