But when it comes to actual tangible concrete results, it is unclear what levers they have either to threaten him with or to cajole him with,
That can either be delivered through NATO — and there were some steps taken in this summer to sort of formalize those structures — but still significantly less than where it needs to be. It can also be done through the EU as well, which might increase slightly but probably not enough. Or it can be done bilaterally,
The first implication for the alliance is how to continue support for Ukraine if there's an expected drawdown of military assistance from the U.S.,
Yes, but it would take a lot more effort than Europe is making now,
There is a geopolitical situation where it is clear that we have two blocs: the United States of America on one side and China on the other, which above all seek their own interests,
I think actually the mechanisms are probably largely irrelevant. It's more about the cost to individual nations, and that's going to have to ramp up pretty quickly if they're going to be able to have that impact,
The question is, are we ready to defend the interests of Europeans? That is the only question that we should ask ourselves. And for me, I think that is our priority,
If it is going to be very fast, it will be a loss for Ukraine,
There was agreement that Europe should take more responsibility for securing peace and safety. To put this more bluntly, we cannot wait for the Americans to protect us.”
He was elected by the American people. He will defend the American interests,
He understands that you have to deal with each other to come to joint positions. And I think we can do that,
We have to be more masters of our destiny,
It is in all our interests that the autocrats of this world get a very clear message that there is not the right of might, that the rule of law is important,
With Trump saying during his campaign that he was going to move forward [and] have a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine, people here are trying to figure out exactly what the Americans mean by ‘a deal with Putin'
I trust the American society,
We need to discuss — but that is perhaps for NATO, we can ask NATO to discuss — [whether] the 2 percent target [is] enough,
We will have to spend more … It will be much more than the 2 percent. I’m clear about that,
I look forward to [sitting] down with Donald Trump to discuss how to face these threats collectively,
He is right about this,
A Trump victory is very painful for Europeans, as it confronts them with a question they’ve tried hard to hide from: ‘How do we deal with a United States that sees us more as a competitor and a nuisance than a friend to work with?