Katarina Barley, EP vice-president: "The EU could have its own nuclear arsenal"

The European Union should constitute a nuclear arsenal following the statements of the former American President Donald Trump, said two days ago, Katarina Barley, vice-president of the European Parliament and head of the list of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) for the European parliamentary elections in this year, according to the Euractiv website.

The quoted source shows that in an interview with the German daily Der Tagesspiegel, Katarina Barley questioned the reliability of the American nuclear protection and said: "Given the latest statements of Donald Trump, we can no longer count on such protection. From a European defense perspective, the need for the EU to have nuclear military capabilities could also become a topic of discussion."

The German official stated that currently the policy of nuclear deterrence in Europe is in the hands of NATO, which means that the EU depends on the protection of the American nuclear arsenal.

The statement of the vice-president of the European Parliament takes place in the context in which at the end of last week Donald Trump declared that NATO allies do not deserve to be protected if they do not fulfill their spending commitments and stated that, if he were to become president of the USA again, he would not will NATO allies who default on their financial obligations, in the event of an attack by the Russian Federation.

Katarina Barley's claims sparked a debate among Germany's political class, with her party colleague, MP Ralf Stegner, telling Spiegel that the idea of a European nuclear arsenal was "extremely dangerous and irresponsible".

Anton Horeiter, chairman of the European Affairs Committee and a member of the SPD's coalition partner Green party, questioned the whole concept: "What should its command structure look like and who would decide on its deployment?"

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, head of the list of German Liberals (FDP) for MEPs and supporter of the concept of a European army, recalled that if the United States no longer manages to ensure the protection of European allies, France has its own nuclear weapons.

Martin Schirdewan, co-chairman of the Left Group in the European Parliament, said "more nuclear bombs will not make the world safer".

Katarina Barley's statement did not go unnoticed by the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who, during a press conference held yesterday, before today's meeting of defense ministers from the member states of the Alliance, said: "We have nuclear capabilities and they have us have been provided to be used as a last-ditch defense for allies for decades. This is an agreement established within NATO. We agreed on the command and control procedures, the practice, the exercises done together, and this of course concerns the involvement of the US in Europe from the point of view of nuclear weapons, but also the provision by the member states of the plans, the infrastructure and the support for nuclear equipment to be functional, operational and safe. This collaboration has worked and we will continue to ensure that it is carried out securely. I mention that some European allies already have their own nuclear weapons, and here I mean Great Britain and France."

In other words, the Secretary General of NATO let it be understood that, although he does not take into account the statements of Donald Trump, Europe will not remain exposed, as long as Britain and France can ensure its nuclear arsenal as the last guarantee for the defense of its member states of the alliance.