The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, born in 1949 in the still hot ashes of the Second World War, was, for decades, the shield of the West. It is a simple and terrible promise at the same time: that of article 5, according to which any attack against one would be an attack against all. This clause, more than a legal device, was an act of faith. It gave Europe a guarantee of security and attracted into its orbit the nations freed from the Soviet yoke, eager for protection as well as belonging.
Now, this faith is wavering. Not under the blows of an external enemy, but under the very words of the one who was for a long time its guarantor. By once again threatening to leave NATO, by reducing it to a “paper tiger” too costly for America, Donald Trump is not only provoking his allies: he is altering the very heart of NATO. Because a military alliance is only as good as the credibility of its commitment. If doubt is instilled, if solidarity becomes conditional, then the building, however imposing it may be, cracks.
Recent events have only accelerated this erosion. The Europeans’ refusal to engage in a confrontation with Iran, decided without them, revealed a deep divide: that of now divergent strategic interests. How can we demand automatic solidarity in conflicts whose causes, objectives and legitimacy escape those we are summoned to fight? Behind Washington’s annoyance lies a more fundamental incomprehension: Europe no longer wants to be the arm of decisions over which it cannot control.
From then on, something obvious becomes obvious, which we sometimes still hesitate to name: NATO, as we knew it, already belongs to the past. Not that she formally disappears, but her spirit has dissipated. And what some experience as a threat could well constitute, for Europe, a historic opportunity.
For if America turns away, or simply proves uncertain, then European nations no longer have the luxury of dependence. They must, finally, think of themselves as powers. Not in a federal dilution which would deny their singularities, but in an alliance of sovereign States determined to ensure their security together: a “Europe of Defense Nations”.
Europe has long lived in the illusion of peace guaranteed by big American brother
In this recomposition, France has a unique voice. It is the only European power to have a complete army, autonomous in its chain of command, equipped with nuclear deterrence, capable of external projection without operational dependence on the United States. This singularity is a precious legacy: it is a burden. That of opening the way to other nations of the Old Continent.
We must first face the insufficiency of resources. Europe has long lived in the illusion of peace guaranteed by big brother America. The awakening is brutal. Increasing defense budgets is no longer an option, it is a vital necessity. And for once, the European Union could rise to the occasion: the European Central Bank could become an instrument of power by contributing to the massive financing of the continent’s defense effort. Not to nourish an abstract industry, but to concretely arm European nations, starting with those which, like France, already have a structuring military apparatus.
But power is not just decreed in credits. It is also constructed by industrial and political choices. It is today absurd that European countries continue to massively purchase American weapons, thus weakening their own industrial and strategic base. That a country like Germany or Denmark buys elsewhere what France knows how to produce is less about economic rationality than political abandonment. Establishing a European preference is the condition for real autonomy.
Refuse both dependence and dilution
Finally, there remains the delicate question of command. A Europe of defense nations cannot be reduced to a juxtaposition of national armies. It presupposes coordination, a capacity for joint action, a shared doctrine. But this organization must be thought of lucidly: it is not a question of dissolving sovereignties in a supranational structure, but of articulating them. Like what NATO’s integrated command was in its time – which Gaullian France had left to better assert its independence – it is necessary to invent flexible mechanisms, respectful of nations, but effective in action.
That’s the whole point: building power without giving up freedom. Refuse both dependence and dilution. In short, make Europe no longer a protected area, but a strategic actor in its own right.
History sometimes offers fruitful ironies. That Donald Trump, through his excesses and his threats, rushes Europe towards its strategic maturity would be one of them. Europeans still need to know how to seize this opportunity. Because nations that do not take control of their destiny always end up suffering it.
