European leaders are seeking to clarify a rarely used mutual defence clause in the European Union treaty as questions grow over Washington’s long-term commitment to NATO during a deepening rift with the United States. NATO, founded in 1949, is a military alliance of North American and European countries built on the principle that an attack … Read moreEurope’s little-known mutual defence clause: Is it a NATO substitute?
Getty Images Nato says there is no provision for member states to be suspended or expelled from the military alliance after a report said the US could seek to suspend Spain over its Iran war stance. Reuters quoted a US official who said an internal Pentagon email had suggested measures for the US to punish … Read moreNato says ‘no provision’ to expel members after report US could seek to suspend Spain
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that any bid by the United States to take over Greenland will result in the end of the NATO military alliance, as reverberations from Washington’s military attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its leader are felt across the globe. Frederiksen made the comments on Monday following US … Read moreDanish PM says US attack on Greenland would be the end of NATO
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated that Kyiv is prepared to drop its long-held ambition of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, as he held meetings with US envoys and European allies in Berlin. The talks on Sunday came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to reach a settlement. Trump’s envoy Steve … Read moreZelenskyy says willing to drop NATO membership bid ahead of peace talks
Spain has reportedly asked to opt out of NATO’s proposed defence spending target of 5 percent of GDP, risking disruption to a key agreement expected at next week’s alliance summit. In a letter addressed to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Thursday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged the alliance to adopt a more flexible framework, according … Read moreSpain rejects NATO’s 5% defence spending hike as ‘counterproductive’
Getty Images Mark Rutte wants to avoid US criticism of European allies for not spending enough on defence Mark Rutte is determined to give Donald Trump a win at the forthcoming Nato summit. The alliance’s secretary general wants to avoid the scenes of 2016 when, while in his first term, the US president berated European … Read moreNato chief is determined to give Trump a win with 5% defence spending plan
EPA Ukraine’s President Zelensky met the US envoy to Ukraine and Russia in Kyiv on Thursday European leaders have been left stunned by the open rapprochement between US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin – and not-so-subtle hints that the US may abandon its obligation to defend European allies. After World War Two, West … Read moreCan Europe still count on the US coming to its defence?
NATO chief Mark Rutte says the US-led military alliance will launch a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region. Rutte made the announcement at a meeting attended by the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Tuesday. “It will involve a … Read moreNATO launches new Baltic Sea mission to protect undersea cables
Russia has trashed a plan pitched by US President-elect Donald Trump’s team to end the Russia-Ukraine war by deferring Kyiv’s NATO membership in exchange for a ceasefire, according to Russian state-owned media. Trump’s win in the November presidential election, his repeated criticism of Ukraine and United States funding for Kyiv, and his promise to end the … Read moreWhy has Russia rejected Trump’s Ukraine truce plan?
One year ago, Finland abandoned its longstanding tradition of neutrality and became NATO’s 31st member. This entry into the transatlantic military alliance marked a turning point in Finland’s approach to foreign and security policy. It effectively saw Helsinki walking away from its post-WWII approach to Moscow, through which the Nordic country had always sought to … Read moreA year of living less dangerously? Finland’s first 12 months in NATO