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Headhunting season is here once again!
It didn’t take long for Ursula von der Leyen to be nominated by the conservative Christian Democratic Union for a second term as president of the European Commission.
The former German defense minister is a staunch defender of Ukraine and has consistently advocated for increased political, financial and military support for Kiev. She is keen to build a defense portfolio within the committee, provided she gets the support she needs to get the job. Imagine her being a jockey in that special position. But that’s still a long way off.
The big NATO summit in Washington, DC this July is not too far away. At that point, the United States is in the midst of a presidential election campaign. Putting aside Donald Trump’s fierce attacks on NATO members who have not met their defense spending target of 2% of GDP, he even goes so far as to say that the United States is in no rush to protect Russia and that Russia can do whatever it wants. If so, the alliance should be maintained. Concentrated.
And the focus should remain on Ukraine. The outcome of Russia’s all-out war that began in February 2022 and the partial occupation of Ukraine that began a decade ago will depend on the credibility and commitment of Western and allied support. more. The outcome of the war will determine the stability of Eastern Europe and the security of the European continent. All NATO countries are now certainly aware of the collective threat facing the Atlantic Alliance.
This is why it is important to succeed Jens Stoltenberg, the Norwegian who has led NATO since 2014 and is expected to step down after the summit. Mr Stoltenberg has become deeply committed to Ukraine, agreeing to stay on last year after NATO members could not agree on who would replace him. He didn’t mince words about Russia. And like other NATO leaders, he spent much of his time liaising with Washington, the alliance’s paymaster.
Lobbying for his replacement has already begun. The current buzz is that outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is at the top of the pecking order. The general feeling is that he won’t take a harder line on Russia and, given his Atlanticist views, will get along well with anyone in the White House. Dutch politics and the machinations of forming a government also show how adept Mr. Rutte is at finding compromises and reaching agreements. So is he a shoo-in?
Why should this be so? The Netherlands already has three NATO Secretary-Generals. And all my other bosses were from Western European countries. Isn’t it time for the Alliance to choose someone from the Baltics, Poland and Central Europe?
The chatter against this idea is a bit depressing. Western European officials have said in private conversations that NATO leaders in the region are too anti-Russian and hostile, potentially even putting NATO into conflict with Russia.
Essentially, the Baltic and Central European countries, along with Romania and Bulgaria, have been allies for decades (some since 1999, others since 2004), despite the fact that the West From European countries it is still not only “new”, but also different.
But their membership made NATO what it is today. Non-Western European member states have, for lack of a better word, made NATO different. It’s not just because they explicitly support Ukraine. They understand the fundamental threats facing Europe.
Furthermore, their past contrasts sharply with that of Western Europeans. Having been occupied, their sovereignty suppressed, and their history subordinated to the Soviet narrative, they instinctively understand why NATO must continue to adapt to the post-Cold War era.
There are other reasons to pass the baton to the East. It’s not just because these countries have increased defense spending and rightly warned about Russia’s imperialist ambitions under Vladimir Putin. And that’s why Poland, the Baltic states and Romania are beefing up their defenses, and not just because they fear for their future security.
It is about ending the division between “old” and “new” NATO members. It is about crafting a collective security narrative, and that should certainly be easier to do within a military alliance than within the EU.
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