Europe is ‘quietly planning for the day it might have to stand on its own’ while aligning with US calls to do more on defence, analysts say
On Monday, 10 European nations – including France, Germany and Britain – signed a joint declaration in Paris to establish the Integrated Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition.
“This isn’t Europe breaking with the United States,” said James Downes, director of the Europe-Asia programme at the US-based Centre for Explanatory Research and Scientific Prediction. “Europe is quietly planning for the day it might have to stand on its own.”
Downes said the coalition was a calculated response to a changing political climate in Washington.