{"id":44358,"date":"2021-06-10T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/06\/10\/biden-should-support-european-strategic-autonomy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T20:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T20:45:11","slug":"biden-should-support-european-strategic-autonomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/06\/10\/biden-should-support-european-strategic-autonomy\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden should support European strategic autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

U.S. President Joe Biden travels to Europe this week to begin a series of meetings with European allies, his first international trip since entering office. Biden telegraphed his main message for the G-7 and NATO summits in The Washington Post, writing<\/a> that both meetings will be squarely about \u201crealizing America\u2019s renewed commitment to our allies and partners\u201d while ensuring democracies around the world will be able to compete in the 21st century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one might expect, summits like these usually produce flowery joint communiques, group pictures and self-reassuring words of alliance solidarity. But for the United States, trumpeting NATO\u2019s longevity or embarking on grand trans-Atlantic initiatives is insufficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than cobbling the Europeans together and pushing them to follow Washington\u2019s lead, the Biden administration should be working to encourage more capable, independent allies. This means getting rid of some bad habits and allowing, rather than inhibiting, Europe to take more responsibility for its own affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Military spending is a prime example. Successive U.S. administrations have pressured European allies to increase their defense budgets, both to lessen the security burden on Washington and to increase NATO\u2019s overall military capacity. While President Donald Trump will forever be known as the man who chided Europe for pinching pennies on defense<\/a>, U.S. presidents from as far back as Dwight D. Eisenhower<\/a> have been consistently frustrated with the continent\u2019s unwillingness to meet U.S. demands. Even President Barack Obama referred to European governments as \u201cfree riders<\/a>\u201d that were largely comfortable with outsourcing their security needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama and Trump, of course, have a point. In terms of defense expenditures, most European nations are far below NATO standards. Excluding the United States, only 10 out of 30 NATO members<\/a> spend 2 percent or more of their gross domestic product on their defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To take one of the most egregious examples: Germany<\/a>, the largest economy in Europe, maintains a military that remains in a state of disrepair<\/a>. As illustrated in Afghanistan, NATO as an organization is highly dependent on the U.S. for the most basic functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States, however, is not absolved of blame for this situation. While European governments are predominantly responsible for the state of their militaries, Washington has contributed<\/a> to the problem by frowning upon \u2014 if not discouraging \u2014 Europe\u2019s movement toward strategic autonomy. The U.S. defense establishment in effect criticizes Europe for taking steps toward what Washington has long wanted it to do: boost the strength, lethality and overall effectiveness of European militaries so the U.S. can spend more time on higher priorities in the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n\n\n\t