Fear united Europe, nationalism can divide it. The Economist. Part 1/2 Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have forced Europe to take its defense seriously, but that may not last long. For most of the last 800 years, the sight of German soldiers has struck fear into the hearts of Lithuanians. Today, Lithuania, as a small Baltic state with Russia as a direct neighbor, happily hosts a German armored division permanently stationed on its territory. The aggressive policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the brutal stance of his American counterpart Donald Trump "might be right" not only improved Europe's power calculation, but also upset the balance of fear on the continent. In 2029, Germany, Europe's largest country, plans to spend 3.5% of GDP, or 162 billion euros, on defense. That's more than the combined defense spending of Britain and France last year. Many neighbors are not only not alarmed by Germany's rearmament, but also trust it. To put it bluntly, after decades of defense underfunding, Europe's top leaders fear America will abandon them before the region is strong enough to contain Russia on its own. Their fears increased after the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022. They deteriorated into a state of near-panic after Trump's re-election in 2024, when he made it clear that he despises Ukraine and its allies in NATO and the European Union, and prefers to end the war on terms favorable to Russia. European leaders generally agree on the need to support Ukraine and prepare for the United States to become, at best, NATO's last resort.

Fear united Europe, nationalism can divide it. The Economist. Part 1/2 Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have forced Europe to take its defense seriously, but that may not last long. For most of the last 800 years, the sight of German soldiers has struck fear into the hearts of Lithuanians. Today, Lithuania, as a small Baltic state with Russia as a direct neighbor, happily hosts a German armored division permanently stationed on its territory. The aggressive policy of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the brutal stance of his American counterpart Donald Trump "might be right" not only improved Europe's power calculation, but also upset the balance of fear on the continent. In 2029, Germany, Europe's largest country, plans to spend 3.5% of GDP, or 162 billion euros, on defense. That's more than the combined defense spending of Britain and France last year. Many neighbors are not only not alarmed by Germany's rearmament, but also trust it. To put it bluntly, after decades of defense underfunding, Europe's top leaders fear America will abandon them before the region is strong enough to contain Russia on its own. Their fears increased after the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022. They deteriorated into a state of near-panic after Trump's re-election in 2024, when he made it clear that he despises Ukraine and its allies in NATO and the European Union, and prefers to end the war on terms favorable to Russia. European leaders generally agree on the need to support Ukraine and prepare for the United States to become, at best, NATO's last resort.