State of the Union: NATO Summit and Orban’s Peace Mission

It’s been a bad week for nationalist and populist forces.

French voters surprised Keeping the far right out of power In the second round of early legislative elections. At the European level, it is spreading far-right parliamentary groups This leads to the fragmentation of populist influence in the European Parliament.

And the He appointed himself a knight of peace.Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has discovered the hard way how little real-world influence he has. Within days of Hungary taking over the EU’s semi-annual presidency, Orbán traveled to Moscow and Beijing on what he called a “peace mission” to end the war in Ukraine.

Not only did he come back empty-handed, but the rest of the EU rebuked him.

“No one has the right, without Ukraine, and in the name of Ukraine, to decide on the future peace and its formPolish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who will take over the presidency of the European Council next January, said.

“No one has the right to speak on behalf of Poland or the entire European Union,” he added. Without reaching a full agreement with Ukraine And with all of us when it comes to possible talks with Moscow. (…) And I will also personally and actively monitor this in the European Union.”

Some member states are so angry with Budapest that they now feel They even want to shorten the term of the Hungarian presidency. This does not seem likely to happen, but the first meetings of the council, chaired by Hungary, were ignored by the ministers, who sent civil servants in their place.

Hungary could feel more isolated in the world NATO Summit in Washington, US President Joe Biden spoke about Orban’s close friend Vladimir Putin.

“Putin wants nothing less than the complete subjugation of Ukraine to end democracy in Ukraine, to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainian culture, to wipe Ukraine off the map. And we know that.” Putin will not stop in Ukraine. “But make no mistake: Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” Biden said.

The Washington summit was intended to present a united front and show that the alliance, on its 75th anniversary, is stronger than ever. But it has been overshadowed by a Crisis Seriesand doubts about the 81-year-old President Biden’s fitness for the job were perhaps the least of the problems.

There will be major challenges for NATO.

What lies ahead for NATO? We spoke to Ian Lesser, Executive Director of the Brussels Office of the German Marshall Fund.

euronews: President Biden described the alliance as the most united it has ever been. But behind the scenes, the mood was rather gloomy. What are the main challenges facing NATO in the future?

Less: Well, first of all, although this is the 75th anniversary and it is somewhat celebratory in nature, there is The ongoing war in EuropeThere is an increasingly dangerous relationship with Russia. Also a very competitive relationship with China. But above all, it is about deterrence and defense against Russia, but also providing Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself.

euronews: NATO is trying to insulate itself against the turmoil and crises that Donald Trump could provoke if he returns, trying to make itself Trump-proof, so to speak. Can it really work?

Lesser: Well, NATO has had some experience with this. Of course, we don’t know what the outcome will be in Washington. But even if Biden is re-elected, There will be major challenges for NATO, and any US administration that continues to come to Europe. And you are asked to spend more and do more. And of course NATO has been doing some of that. But the challenges are very big and so are the requirements. But, of course, that is a more obvious question. If Trump is re-elected and there is some desire to try to put Europe in a more stable position in that sense.

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euronews: There is Trump, but there is also the growing power of far-right, anti-NATO forces in Europe. How serious is this problem for the alliance?

Less: Well, the far right, but also in some cases on the left, parties that do not always support the transatlantic relationship. And that is also a problem for me. It could be a problem with policy towards Russia, support for Ukraine, defense spending. Many parties seeking power in Europe want to spend money on other things, on social programmes, at a time when defence requires more spending. This demand is likely to continue for years, and so tensions persist at the political level on both sides of the Atlantic.

euronews: Finally, there’s a new Secretary General in town: is Mark Rutte the right man to lead NATO through stormy waters?

Less: Everything that is done in NATO, from the smallest to the largest, is done by consensus. And there are few things more important than the election of a Secretary General in very difficult times. That’s why I think the fact that Mark Rutte was elected with such broad support, and that it was not very controversial, says something about the direction in which the alliance wants to go. Your level of confidence in your leadership.But I think that might be true.

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