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Established format of US-EU military cooperation may disappear — expert

Gao Jian agreed with the popular opinion of European politicians that the return of a Republican to the White House will be the beginning of Europe’s nightmare

SHANGHAI, November 8. /TASS/. The previous format of cooperation between the United States and Europe in the field of security may cease to exist once Donald Trump returns to power in the US, Gao Jian, an expert at the Center for Comparative Cultural Studies of the Shanghai International Studies University, told a TASS correspondent.

"As for military security, there are concerns that Trump will be more direct and will ask NATO member states in Europe to fulfill their obligations of spending 2% of GDP on defense and military needs. It is quite possible that Trump will push these requirements. Cooperation between the US and Europe in the field of European security is increasingly tending toward commercialization, while cooperation on military security, based on shared values from the Cold War era, will most likely cease to exist. Even though Europe has always stressed the so-called European strategic autonomy, in the short-term, European strategic autonomy remains an unrealistic goal," the expert said.

Gao agreed with the popular opinion of European politicians that the return of a Republican to the White House will be the beginning of Europe’s nightmare. "I think that this opinion is generally true. The Trump administration’s policy will differ significantly from that of Biden’s administration, whether it is about bilateral economic and trade issues between the US and Europe or about NATO’s role in the mechanism of European security. The Trump administration’s policy of high tariffs is directed not only against China but also against all countries with close economic and trade ties with the US, including the EU," he noted. According to the expert, there is a possibility that Trump’s protectionist measures in the economy and trade will be much tougher than during his first presidential term.