Latest news with #anti-NATO
Asia Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Asia Times
NATO faces make-or-break decision on a post-US future
NATO is facing a pivotal moment in its history. Ahead of its June 24-25 summit in The Hague, NATO is weighing up whether it can truly continue to count on US support (and membership), whether it will become a European-only organization, or whether it has a future at all. This suggests a massive shift for the intergovernmental organization that sits at the heart of defense and security for Europe, and beyond. The past year has changed everything. Trump's anti-NATO rhetoric has become increasingly vociferous and disrespectful, undermining both the organization itself, and the other 31 NATO member countries, which include Germany, France, Canada, Turkey, the UK, Sweden and Norway. Add to this the Trump administration's embrace of international isolationism, and the potential, consequential loss of clear US backing for the alliance, all of which highlight the organization's historical dependence on the US. This is what makes the June 2025 summit so critical. It is a make-or-break opportunity to unveil a plan for NATO's wholesale transformation, or an event conclusively marking its obsolescence. The plan itself is simple: build – or rebuild – NATO as a possible Europe-only endeavor. If this plan becomes reality, historians of European security and defense may spot earlier parallels for NATO with the original Western European Union (WEU). The WEU was the European defense security structure established in 1954 under the Paris Accords, which helped to redefine relations with West Germany. Ultimately subsumed into both NATO and EU governance structures, the WEU's prime goal at the time was to bolster the European content of the Atlantic alliance. There is a deep irony in Trump's bluster about NATO states paying more towards their defense. The US has, for decades, been sanguine at best, and hostile at worst on almost every form of European defense autonomy, from basic operationss established by the EU to more ambitious strategies. Instead, the US has insisted almost exclusively on increased defense spending by other NATO members, improved interoperability between the various national forces, but all 'in furtherance of a US-dominated alliance', rather than a more authentically US-European approach to safeguarding both European and American interests, according to Max Bergman, a former senior adviser to the US State Department. What is the future of NATO? If the US is now reducing its involvement in NATO, or abdicating entirely, the only option for NATO is to reduce its dependence on the US, and in doing so, to focus more on Europe. A clear mandate is needed to ensure that being US-less does not render NATO itself useless. Without a mandate, opportunistic space would quickly open up for an aggressive Russia. Trump made clear early in his first administration that he was no fan of NATO, and argued that its funding structure should no longer overburden the US. In his second administration, Trump has been even clearer, has variously threatened to pull US troops from NATO joint exercises, reduce US security commitments to NATO as a whole, remove some or all of the 80,000 US troops on permanent rotation in Europe and vastly reduce the US's contribution to NATO's central budget of US$5 billion. These threats are now repeated routinely by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others in the Trump administration. This has profoundly rattled NATO as an institution and its individual member states. As NATO's own records show, from 2023 onward, there have been major increases in European defense spending. But the opportunity to keep spending commitments high, as well as overhaul the organzsation to meet Ukraine's demands and defense opportunities for the EU as a whole – which could have been nailed onto NATO's 75th anniversary summit in 2024 – did not materialize. There are pros and cons of a new Europe-focused approach for NATO, and these will work themselves out in the final five-to-ten-year plan, which is being prepared ahead of the June summit. For some, building a European defense mission within NATO is an opportunity to plot a new and more sustainable course for NATO, rather than trying to shore up an expanding US-shaped hole. Spending increases that reduce NATO's perceived helplessness, or reliance on the US, may also be a benefit. For others, the removal of US command and control, hardware, software, intelligence and much more from NATO is a futile endeavor that will leave the organization in pieces at best, and present Russia with a golden opportunity for continued eastern aggression at worst. The signals from Washington remain confusing. Trump's suggestion of a sudden and total US withdrawal from European defense was tempered in April by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's suggestion that Trump remained supportive of NATO but also demanding expanded spending commitments (these demands vary from 2.5% to 5% of GDP), and for other members to take on far greater responsibility for developing NATO's capabilities. Many members now support the emerging 'coalition of the willing', led by France and Britain, to underwrite a force and secure a post-conflict deal for Ukraine. In figuring out the current provision of military force, including logistics and intelligence capacities in addition to air, land and sea forces, NATO members are aiming to remove the US's presence and fill the vacuum with European assets over a decade. The task is colossal, and not without risks. NATO does not want an overnight abdication of the US, as it currently relies far too heavily upon US capabilities, such as long-range precision missiles, and crucially, heavy-lift aircraft, which are vital in shifting armored forces around the continent rapidly. NATO also wants a clear plan, which new member Finland has emphasized as crucial, to prevent an abrupt and disjointed transition that Russia could exploit. A new vision must be set out by the end of June in order to deal sensibly with ongoing defense spending commitments, reworked governance structures, and possible planned responses to the war in Ukraine. Scrapping NATO is unnecessary and leaves Europe – and the US, if the White House could but see far enough ahead – open to innumerable threats and consequences. Even without the US, NATO provides a valuable structure for security cooperation in Europe. Strengthening European capabilities within NATO, rather than creating an entirely new defense structure, makes sense. Amelia Hadfield is head of Department of Politics, University of Surrey This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Euronews
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Fake Euronews video alleging Romania election meddling spreads online
A fabricated Euronews video which claims that Romania cautioned French authorities over interference in the Romanian presidential election runoff last Sunday has been circulating on social media in the aftermath of the vote. The report fraudulently bears the Euronews logo and alleges that Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent the French government a "note of protest" for attempting to meddle in the presidential elections with the help of messaging app Telegram. Euronews did not produce or publish the video, and our branding was copied without consent. Our teams are working to ensure the video is removed from all social platforms. On Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania issued a statement on X "adamantly refuting" the content of the video falsely attributed to Euronews, and pointing to "a sustained campaign of foreign information manipulation and interference aimed at influencing Romania's public opinion and more recently its elections." "This campaign is still ongoing and has all the hallmarks of (Russian) disinformation and covert anti-NATO and anti-EU propaganda campaigns," the statement adds. Romania's foreign, interior and defence ministries have also previously denounced what they called "Russian interference" in Sunday's runoff, which saw pro-European centrist Nicușor Dan narrowly beat nationalist George Simion to the Romanian presidency. The captioned video was first spotted by Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, a government agency. Its format strongly resembles Euronews' social media videos, but the content is inauthentic. It comes after Pavel Durov, the Russian-born owner of Telegram, claimed on social media that France's intelligence chief asked him to "silence" Romanian conservative voices by banning them from his messaging app ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off. There is no evidence to back Durov's claims, which the French interior ministry has described as a "diversionary maneuver from the real threats of interference targeting Romania." But Durov's allegations have since triggered a flood of disinformation on social media. Durov, who was indicted in France last September on six charges related to illegal activity on Telegram, has said he would "testify" in favour of Simion when he contests Sunday's runoff result before the Romanian Constitutional Court. Euronews has contacted the French foreign ministry to confirm that the allegations in the doctored video are false. Antibot4Navalny, an anonymous group of disinformation researchers, shared on Thursday screenshots of reports mimicking major French media outlets including Le Parisien, Libération and BFMTV. The collective has linked the campaign to Operation Matryoshka, which the French cyber agency Viginum describes as posting "fake content that generally impersonates North American and European public figures and media outlets, including French ones." The falsified reports are all based on Durov's statements, but have relayed slightly different unfounded narratives. For example, a fake Radio France Internationale (RFI) report claims journalists have announced "mass protests" against President Emmanuel Macron's "censorship" in response to Durov's allegations. A fake BFMTV falsely claims Macron's popularity rating has "plummeted" in response to Durov's claims. Euronews' fact-checking team, Euroverify, has seen the video shared multiple times on pro-Russian Telegram accounts, garnering at least 85,000 views at the time of publication of this article.
Edmonton Journal
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Alberta NDP and UCP nominate candidates for Edmonton-Ellerslie riding
Article content Alberta's two major parties have nominated their candidates for the Edmonton-Ellerslie riding. The riding has been left vacant since March after longtime Alberta NDP member Rod Loyola resigned from his seat to run in the federal 2025 election as the Liberal candidate for Edmonton Gateway, but was removed after a video from 2009 resurfaced in which he praised terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, while speaking at an anti-NATO protest outside Edmonton City Hall.
Calgary Herald
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Alberta NDP and UCP nominate candidates for Edmonton-Ellerslie riding
Alberta's two major parties have nominated their candidates for the Edmonton-Ellerslie riding. Article content Article content The riding has been left vacant since March after longtime Alberta NDP member Rod Loyola resigned from his seat to run in the federal 2025 election as the Liberal candidate for Edmonton Gateway, but was removed after a video from 2009 resurfaced in which he praised terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, while speaking at an anti-NATO protest outside Edmonton City Hall. Article content Loyola was first elected in 2015 and was in his third term as an MLA when he resigned. Article content Article content The Alberta NDP are looking to keep the riding and have nominated Gurtej Singh Brar following a vote on May 14. In a Wednesday press release, the party said Brar has 'strong local roots and a commitment to public service.' Article content 'Edmonton-Ellerslie is full of possibility. I'm ready to work hard for this community and deliver the representation it deserves,' Brar said. Article content The UCP nominated Naresh Bhardwaj as its candidate. Bhardwaj served as the MLA for Edmonton-Ellerslie from 2008 to 2015 and did not run after allegations of bribery. of which he was later cleared. Article content 'I'm running because I believe that Edmonton-Ellerslie deserves a strong and experienced voice in the government to help grow and diversify our economy, advocate for an inclusive education system, support more efficient healthcare, keep our streets safe and support newcomers while recognizing foreign credentials,' Bhardwaj said. Article content Article content Edmonton-Ellerslie is one of three ridings that must be called for a by-election this year. Article content 'I think just for taxpayers purposes its better to have all three of them at once,' Smith said during a press conference on Friday. Article content In May, Alberta Speaker Nathan Cooper resigned as MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills where he served for nearly a decade and will replace former Edmonton Conservative MP James Rajotte as the province's D.C. based diplomat. Article content The UCP have nominated Acme Farmer Tara Sawyer for the seat. The NDP have yet to announce their candidate. Article content Edmonton Strathcona has been vacant since December 2024 after former premier Rachel Notley resigned, making room for Alberta leader Naheed Nenshi to run. Article content Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Romania responds to Putin, who blamed Bucharest for war in Ukraine
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Romania's Foreign Ministry, through a statement by spokesman Andrei Țărnea, has responded to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's claims that Romania and Bulgaria contributed to the tensions that led to the war in Ukraine. Source: European Pravda with reference to Digi24 Details: Țǎrnea said that Romania's accession to NATO is the sovereign will of its citizens and its allies and "does not pose a security threat to anyone." The spokesperson stressed that Putin is using "the same familiar narratives that served as a pretext for a brutal war of annexation". "The only country that threatens regional security in Europe is the Russian Federation, which is waging an illegal and unjustified war, accompanied by numerous war crimes against civilians in Ukraine, as well as a Russian disinformation campaign and anti-European and anti-NATO propaganda," he said. In the propaganda documentary "Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years", aired by Russia's state-run Rossiya-1 TV channel, archival footage is shown of the Kremlin leader in an old speech to world leaders, including Angela Merkel, stating that "so-called light advanced US bases are appearing in Bulgaria and Romania, one in each country. And we have every right to ask ourselves openly: against whom is this expansion taking place?" The video goes on to show Putin speaking in the present day, explaining his statements of the time: "This was the message I wanted to convey to our partners and colleagues, hoping that they would hear us and change their attitude towards Russia. But, unfortunately, they did not hear us. That is, they heard us, but did not respond appropriately. Ultimately, this led to today's tragic events in Ukraine," the Kremlin leader said. "Russia. The Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years" is a 90-minute documentary directed by propagandist Pavel Zarubin, featuring a series of interviews recorded in the spring of 2025, which presents Putin's "achievements" during his time in power. In the film, Putin defends Russia's annexation of Crimea and justifies a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, attacks "Western values", speculates on who might one day replace him, and says he "hopes" he will never have to use nuclear weapons. Background: The leader of the far-right party and the winner of the first round of the presidential election in Romania, George Simion, called for an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war and also spoke out against supplying Ukraine with weapons. On 4 May, Romania held the first round of presidential elections, which resulted in the victory of pro-Russian far-right leader George Simion, who gained 40.94%, and liberal Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, who received 20.99%. It is worth noting that on 15 November 2024, Simion was banned from entering Ukraine for his systematic anti-Ukrainian activity. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
