According to reports, the U.S. has conveyed to its allies that it does not plan to participate in future military exercises in Europe.
Exercises scheduled through 2025 are not impacted by the freeze.
Swedish outlet Expressen reports, “If the ruling remains in force, it means that Sweden and the rest of the NATO member states will have to plan exercises without the participation of the United States or small American units in the air force.”
Per Expressen: (via Google Translate)
The information is scarce, but the announcement concerns exercises where the US is an important piece of the puzzle for the entirety of the exercise activities in Europe and, by extension, the defense of the European continent.
According to Expressen’s sources, the American planning freeze does not apply to exercises that have been decided to be carried out in 2025.
It concerns exercises that are currently on the “drawing board”, i.e. a little further ahead, says one of Expressen’s sources.
If the announcement stands, it means that Sweden and other NATO countries are forced to plan exercises without American participation or with only small American units in the exercises.
The news, if accurate, underscores President Trump’s position regarding NATO countries and his criticism of their failure to meet the current goal of spending two percent of GDP on defense.
President Trump has asserted that the U.S. accounts for over 70% of NATO’s funding.
As TGP’s Antonio Graceffo reports, President Trump is correct in his assertion. The official figures on U.S. funding for NATO typically only reflect direct contributions, which represent roughly 15%-20% of NATO’s budget.
In reality, the U.S. provides a wide range of additional aid and support, significantly increasing its financial commitment to the alliance.
These contributions include U.S. military bases in Europe, Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP), defense and security assistance, infrastructure support, contributions to NATO missions and operations, strategic airlift and logistics, cybersecurity and intelligence support, ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems, research and development (R&D) for NATO technologies, support for NATO’s nuclear deterrence, troop deployment costs, investment in NATO’s rapid reaction force, space applications, military aid and loans to smaller countries, and nuclear sharing.
By some estimates, when all U.S. contributions are considered, the total could be as high as $700 billion annually.
Read more:
U.S. NATO Funding Much Higher Than Official Contribution Data
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