Spain, Ukraine, and the Renewed Call for an EU Army

https://www.dailysabah.com/world/europe/spains-pm-sanchez-calls-for-eu-army-stronger-global-role

Donald Trump hates the centre-left Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez. It has refused to cooperate with Trump's agenda and has pointedly condemned US actions against Iran.

Not a few have also pointed out that while Trump wants very much to make the 2026 World Cup about America - Spain is in the top rankings and many believe has a strong chance of winning the tournament.

Whatever his faults, Sanchez has realized what Trump and MAGA mean for Europe, Atlanticism and thus NATO. Europe perceives Russia to be threat, but Spain is in the far West of Europe - about the last place that would be worried about supposed Russian aggression.

Regardless of whether one accepts the EU-NATO narrative about Russia, for Spain there are other concerns - immigration being one of them as well as various economic considerations connected to the Mediterranean and energy. Madrid has realized the US is not acting like an ally but a competitor and even a hegemon.

This makes perfect sense to me as I have long argued that for many years the Right has viewed the rise of the EU with grave concern - all the more when the Eurozone was introduced. The EU as a whole stands poised to compete with and even surpass the United States by many metrics. Atlanticism has kept the American and European spheres united - Europe was willing (to a point) to be subjugated and dependent on the United States.

But the American Right interprets all of this differently and has grossly misread the nature of the American Empire's relationship with its European client states. Since Bush II, the American Right has been pushing Europe away and alienating the EU. Biden started to heal some of the rifts but the second Trump administration has torn open and poured salt in these wounds and many European strategists and political leaders have reached a point in which they don't think it can be fixed any more. Look at even the recent meltdown with Meloni over everything from the pope to Trump lying about pictures.

The question now is how quickly should Europe pursue its own course. This is tricky given the volatility of the Ukraine situation.

Under Trump I, nations such as France and Germany were signalling the possibility of a European Army - a move that render NATO superfluous and signal its obsolescence. Brexit emboldened the interests in these nations that had long wanted to break away from Washington - even while it has thrown British politics into chaos.

But then the Ukraine War happened and opinions are split and even those who might like to see NATO end - are proceeding with great caution.

And so now in the 2020's it is Spain that has emerged as the newest and boldest voice calling for independence from the United States. Sanchez is basically saying the US and Europe are no longer on the same path or united in geostrategic goals. The age of the NATO framework and Atlanticism have come to an end. And this is playing out in other contexts as well - the rise of Robert Vannacci and his National Future party is already shaking up Italian politics and giving voice to those within Meloni's FdI and the Lega who are frustrated with Italy's status vis-à-vis both the EU and NATO.

Will European leaders embrace this thinking? Again, the issue is Ukraine and whether or not Russia is truly viewed as a viable (or even existential) threat. I have no doubt there are many European leaders who know better and understand what has happened and why. A politician as enduring and popular as Angela Merkel did not agree with the EU posture vis-à-vis Moscow and even today remains critical of Europe's diplomatic failures.

The end of NATO would (effectively) eliminate the security threat as Russia would back off. Others insist that Putin wants to march to Berlin and Paris and thus NATO must be salvaged. They're simply hoping they can hang another 30 months until Trump is gone.

What is it that Putin wants? No one can agree even though Putin himself has been quite clear. He wants NATO to quit expanding to the East.

That said, the recent setbacks due to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian infrastructure suggest Moscow might do something drastic - a move that would play into the hands of the Anti-Russian militarists and their propaganda machine. There has been talk that Putin might decide to strike facilities within NATO territories that play a role in Ukraine's drone campaign - a measured and restrained response by Moscow's calculations. That's not how such a move would play out in Western media. Let's hope Putin takes that option off the table as things could quickly spiral out of control.