Trump is Right to Put Germany Under the Spotlight
The solidarity of NATO — a vital security institution to check aggression against Europe — took a blow last week when the integrity of one of its members was questioned by another. Germany, said President Donald Trump, is a “captive of Russia.” At the 2018 NATO Summit last week, President Trump singled out Germany for their reliance on Russian gas while failing to meet their obligation to contribute 2% of the nation’s GDP to NATO’s collective security expenditure and taking advantage of U.S. defense assets stationed in the country. While it is easy to dismiss the charge as bluster and hyperbole, his critique of Germany has merit.
Berlin has, in fact, consistently resisted appeals from the Trump administration (and previously from the Obama administration) as well as other NATO allies to meet the alliance’s 2014 Wales Summit pledge of spending 2 percent of their Gross Domestic Product on defense. As the largest national economy in Europe, Germany has profited from the stable and secure environment provided by the 35,000 U.S. forces based there.
In addition to their lack of defense spending with NATO, Germany’s own military posture is lazy. As the Atlantic Council’s NATO expert Jorge Benitez stated bluntly, “The readiness of the German military is abysmal.” None of Germany’s submarines are operational, only four of its 128 Eurofighter jets are combat-ready, and troops are short on the basics: body armor, night vision gear and cold-weather clothing. Adding insult to injury, 19 helicopter pilots from Germany’s Bundeswehr were forced to turn in their flight licenses because of a lack of training time. Overall, less than a third of German military assets are operational. According to Benitez, “For years, German leaders have known that major elements of their armed forces, such as tanks, submarines and fighter jets, are not fully operational and can’t be used for actual military missions.” This lack of preparedness places undue stress on American military resources and readiness.
While Germany had long reneged on its financial and operational commitments to NATO — which was established to contain Russian aggression — it has remained fully addicted to Russian gas supplies. Currently, Russia exports about 150 billion bcm/year of gas to Europe, the majority of which goes to Germany, the world’s largest natural gas importer and largest importer from Russia in the E.U. According to Eurostat, the European Union’s main statistics agency, Russia is the source of 25–50% of Germany’s oil imports and 50–75% of its gas imports. Efforts to increase energy reliance on Russia at a time when the country has proved itself to be an opponent to democracy should concern all NATO allies.
As if the German government’s reliance on Russian gas wasn’t enough to concern NATO allies, former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder is the chairman of the Russian state-controlled oil producer Rosneft and a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has described as a “flawless democrat.” Schröder, the former leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who implemented the massive Nord Stream gas agreement, the same party that has sharply criticized increased defense spending and NATO burden sharing, was rightly criticized at the summit by Trump, who questioned whether his subsequent position in the pocket of Putin was “appropriate.” Beyond the former leader of Germany’s concerning position, Nord Stream 2’s ability to bypass Ukraine, Belarus and Poland in light of Russia’s 2014 invasion and annexation is dangerous to NATO allies and partners.
Alliance politics are always difficult, wrought with divergent interests and political entanglements. But Trump is right to refuse to indirectly bankroll Germany’s selfish and dangerous efforts to further economically strengthen itself, while failing to meet the collective security responsibilities of NATO membership. Both of Germany’s positions come at the cost of its allies’ security and pockets, which is something that should not be tolerated by anyone — especially the U.S. president.
