Is the US-Europe Alliance at Risk under President Trump?

CGTN Europe

Victor Ashe, Former United States Ambassador to Poland spoke to CGTN Europe about EU Leaders’ meeting, expressing hope that European nations can reach a unified decision.

Transcript

00:00Well, Viktor Ash is the former United States ambassador to Poland. I asked him what he

00:05made of this European defence meeting.

00:08Well, I think it's critical, very important, and hopefully the European nations there can

00:15unify and overwhelmingly, if not unanimously, reach a decision. President Trump has made

00:22his decision, so I personally disagree and regret them. And you have to wonder what's

00:28coming down the road. Is NATO next?

00:31What's the answer to your question? Is NATO next?

00:34Well, I don't know. I'm not privy to President Trump's thoughts, but he certainly made critical

00:39comments. Now, I would say he's on track in terms of NATO countries putting more money

00:45up for the defence and for the NATO budget. Poland, for example, has been a country that

00:51has done quite a bit. The UK, under the leadership of Prime Minister Starmer, is moving ahead,

01:00and Germany maybe too. But it's important that everyone pitch in and do what they should,

01:05whether the US is involved or not.

01:07Do you think European countries are up to the job to quickly get this done?

01:14They're up to it and can do it if they have the will to do it. I cannot answer that. I

01:18individual leaders, President Macron of France and others, and the British Prime Minister,

01:24certainly, and King Charles, to the degree the King can be involved in political events,

01:31are clearly on board. But are the other countries? I don't know the answer to that yet.

01:37You're a seasoned observer of international events. This meeting in Brussels is being

01:43described as a critical turning point in Europe's defence. Do you see it like this?

01:49Is this one of those huge change moments?

01:52I think it's a very pivotal meeting. It may not be the pivotal meeting, but it may very

01:59well go down in history, just as Churchill's speech in 1947 went down in Westminster, Missouri,

02:05about the Iron Curtain. It may be a meeting that is remembered 60 years later.

02:12President Trump keeps on changing his mind 24 hours after making a decision about, for

02:17instance, car tariffs today. He's flip-flopped on the decision he made yesterday. It is just

02:22possible, is it not, that he's going to change his mind on this, isn't it?

02:27Certainly. It's an open book. He flips the pages frequently. There's no real consistency.

02:36The number one goal would be to reduce inflation and reduce prices. He's taken steps that

02:43does the exact opposite. With Mexico and Canada, needless fights with countries that have been

02:50traditionally our long-time friends. Then he backs off every 30 days, literally on the

02:58eve of the day they are to be implemented.

03:02You know from your time working in Europe that Germany is the engine of Europe. Germany

03:09has now agreed to loosen its borrowing limits to boost its defence spending. Could this

03:15signal a broader shift, perhaps, in Europe's willingness to heavily invest in its military

03:22capabilities?

03:24Oh, definitely. I mean, if Germany is isolated and not contributing, and it's one of the

03:30most significant countries in Europe, obviously that's a step back. But this is a step forward

03:35under the new leadership in Germany, and perhaps in a bipartisan way with what will be the

03:41ruling coalition in the German parliament. And I think that sends a signal. And the major

03:48countries in Europe will seem to be on board. Then the smaller countries, which are still

03:53very important, hopefully will join up.

03:57You spent a lot of your life in Europe. You're clearly back home in the States. How would

04:02you describe the current state of European-US relations? This was once your job. You were

04:10the face of America in Poland. How do you see it now?

04:15Well, I think it's at risk. I hope Europeans realise that a great deal of the American

04:22public are very supportive of close ties between the United States and Europe. And, of course,

04:27so many Americans are immigrants from Europe, one country or another, some going back 200

04:32years. But that's who we are. And I think the current Trump administration, hopefully,

04:42is one that will get its feet on the ground and be more realistic. But if it doesn't,

04:47you know, in three years and 10 months, they'll be gone.

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