Europe needs to think about strengthening Europe’s pillars in NATO. This was stated in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.
Maas believes that NATO decisions are often made in Washington, and Brussels has almost no voting rights. According to him, it is necessary to hold broader political discussions before sending servicemen to one or another country. Otherwise, the Foreign Minister noted, there is a risk of implementing the decisions made in Washington, regardless of who is in power in the United States.
“Europe needs to think about strengthening Europe’s pillars in NATO. The truth is that we are not able to carry out complex international missions without the United States, so the Americans decide a lot, and we just follow their decision. Failure in Afghanistan should not force us to give up our responsibilities to the world altogether. But we must not allow the Afghan scenario to repeat itself,” Maas added.
The Foreign Minister stated that the Alliance should discuss whether such missions would be possible in the future under the leadership of NATO.
“What is our mission? In order to ensure peace and respect for human rights, to become part of this mission, to export our management system? This approach has certainly failed in Afghanistan,” Maas added.