In this regard, the French Defense Ministry has prepared an assessment of Washington’s policy towards the alliance, with further claims.
The essence of the assessment is as follows:
Washington pays considerable attention to counteracting NATO threats from the east, that is, from Russia. Therefore, the U.S. openly supports strengthening of the military grouping of the bloc within the framework of expanded advanced presence in Poland and the Baltic States.
At the same time, the White House is concerned about the defense initiatives of the European Union, including within the framework of the “Permanent Structured EU Defence Cooperation”, as well as the “European Defense Fund”, which actively initiates the creation of France.
The American side assumes that the alliance is the main and only guarantor of security on the continent and categorically stresses the avoidance of duplication of functions between NATO and “One Europe”.
The distribution of NATO’s defense spending remains a permanent unresolved issue for the United States. The White House insists on increasing military allocations to 2 percent of GDP by 2024. At the same time, it condemns Germany and the Czech Republic’s lack of interest in the allocation of funds.
To increase its presence in the European contingent, Washington regularly increases the number of exercises of the bloc and modernizes the military infrastructure of NATO countries.
Financing of the European deterrence initiative implemented by the American side has increased from $1.1 billion in 2015 to $6.5 billion in 2020.
It is possible that this assessment has been prepared in the light of recent events when the alliance turned its back on its “allies” at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.