BEIJING, November 23. /TASS/. US authorities are using NATO as a trap to undermine the European economy and tighten control over EU policy, the Chinese daily Global Times said with reference to the opinion of local experts.
"The US has a malicious goal in mind when pressing NATO members to raise defense budget," the daily’s front-page article authored by the daily’s staff reporters reads. "Given the current energy crisis and severe inflation situation in EU, raising defense budget may further cause public's discontent with governments, making it easier for the US to exert influence over governments in EU countries."
The director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, Cui Hongjian, believes that "Europe's energy issues are primarily supply-related because Russia's supplies have been cut off."
"However, even if some European countries find alternatives, they will still experience high energy prices in the near future," Cui warns.
He points out that "certain European nations, particularly those with significant economies, will lose competitiveness as a result of high energy costs."
Cui emphasized that the concern was with the "subsequent chain reaction and systemic harm rather than short-term food and energy shortages."
He recalled that as under US pressure "supporting Ukraine has been made politically correct in the EU, the US and NATO have made full use of the Ukraine crisis to reinforce influence in the EU."
"Analysts said that NATO's plan to increase defense budget is one way for the US to blackmail the EU, requesting it to serve for a strategic goal set by the US, and as the Russia-Ukraine conflicts continue, the EU would be dragged into more turmoil if they continue to follow the US without realizing independence," the article says.