{"id":36146,"date":"2020-08-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/20\/money-and-missions-nato-should-learn-from-europes-pandemic-response\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:51:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:51:25","slug":"money-and-missions-nato-should-learn-from-europes-pandemic-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2020\/08\/20\/money-and-missions-nato-should-learn-from-europes-pandemic-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Money and missions: NATO should learn from Europe\u2019s pandemic response"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The first COVID-19 clusters appeared in Italy in late February, and by early March the Italian authorities issued a decree to install strict public health measures, including social distancing first in the affected regions and then nationwide. Soon afterward, Spain, France and many other European countries instituted similar public health measures. Without debating the efficacy of those measures, the important takeaway is that when faced with what was viewed as a clear and present danger, European countries acted in their own self-interest without having to depend on the U.S. to counter the threat posed by COVID-19. They need to take that same approach for their own security and responsibilities under NATO. It is not a question of resources or capabilities \u2014 it is largely a matter of political will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The low hanging fruit for our European NATO allies is to meet their pledge of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. Currently nine countries meet that threshold<\/a>: the United States (3.42 percent), Bulgaria (3.25 percent), Greece (2.28 percent), the United Kingdom (2.14 percent), Estonia (2.14 percent), Romania (2.04 percent), Lithuania (2.03 percent), Latvia (2.01 percent) and Poland (2 percent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noticeably absent are Germany (1.38 percent), France (1.84 percent) and Italy (1.22 percent) \u2014 the fourth, seventh and eighth largest economies in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are wealthy countries that can afford to make the necessary investment. Indeed, the combined GDP of NATO Europe is nearly on par with the U.S. \u2014 about $17.5 trillion versus about $20 trillion. Yet, the U.S. spends more than double on defense than our European NATO allies. Other than political will, there is no real reason that European NATO countries cannot spend 2 percent of their GDP for their own defense. Yet, even though Germany previously pledged<\/a> to meet its 2 percent obligation, Berlin is proposing a new metric<\/a> based on a country\u2019s defense needs \u2014 perhaps because U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he wants European allies to spend 4 percent<\/a> of their GDP on defense (a metric even the U.S. does not meet).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond spending, there is the question of what threat NATO should counter. Originally created in 1949, NATO was intended to counter the Soviet military threat and communist expansion. At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies had some 4 million troops and 60,000 main battle tanks deployed<\/a> against Western Europe \u2014 and threatened invasion via the North German Plain, Hof Corridor and Fulda Gap. But today\u2019s Russian Federation is not the Soviet Union. Nonetheless, NATO\u2019s European countries have the resources to counter a Russian military threat (although it\u2019s worth noting that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently said<\/a>: \u201cWe don\u2019t see any imminent threat against any NATO ally.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO Europe\u2019s combined GDP is 10 times larger<\/a> than Russia\u2019s \u2014 more than $17 trillion versus $1.7 trillion. And current defense spending is also in Europe\u2019s favor by more than 4-to-1 ($287 billion versus $65 billion<\/a>). Again, there is no practical reason why NATO Europe cannot make the necessary investments to provide for its security. It is more a question of political will. <\/p>\n\n\n\t