“EU needs nuclear umbrella”
Masala: Europe completely unprepared for Trump’s return
January 1, 2024, 5:36 a.m
If Donald Trump returns to the White House, Carlo Masala sees black news for Europe. The military expert concludes that the time for serious preparations has probably already passed. He calls for concrete measures to ensure the security of the continent.
Military expert Carlo Masala believes Europe is largely unprepared for Donald Trump’s return as US President. He sees “neither the federal government nor the rest of Europe making any serious preparation for this. We have probably already missed the right time,” the political scientist at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Europe must be able to guarantee the security of the continent itself under completely different circumstances. “Trump would probably tell the European NATO states: You have to spend a lot more money now, otherwise we will withdraw your protection,” he predicted. “And we are no longer talking about two percent of the respective economic output, but rather significantly more.”
Masala also reiterated: “Trump would probably only give bilateral security guarantees, but no more through the alliance. Only those states that meet his demands would then be under American protection – for example with regard to defense spending.” Those European states that did not take part would then be left without American security guarantees. “It would essentially be blackmail.”
“We need a European nuclear umbrella”
“If the Americans no longer guarantee protection, we need a European nuclear umbrella,” is Masala’s demand. He recommended exploring “the extent to which France has an interest in having its national nuclear force also paid for with other money.” France’s nuclear strategy has so far been purely national. “Perhaps it will be possible to change this so that France would, under certain circumstances, be prepared to defend neighboring European states with its nuclear weapons.”
Masala advocated bringing Great Britain, the second European nuclear power, on board. “It no longer belongs to the European Union,” he said. “But for countries like Poland or Romania, the idea of depending solely on the French nuclear umbrella is likely to be unacceptable.” In any case, there will be no nuclear suitcase that will be stored in Brussels or “traveled back and forth between the European capitals,” said Masala. Such demands are nonsense.
Masala said his greatest concern for the new year was “that we will not be able to guarantee long-term support for Ukraine. In this case, the aggressor Russia would prevail,” said the expert. A Russian victory would permanently destabilize Europe’s security – both in terms of foreign policy and domestic policy.