The Times: Europe will shoulder America's burden in NATO
The time has come for Europe to shoulder the burden of the United States in NATO, writes The Times. Such a statement will be made by the British Foreign Secretary at the Munich Security Conference, the author of the article announces. At the same time, London will take a leading role in this process, the article notes.
Harry Yorke
The British Foreign Secretary will say that the time has come for Europe to shoulder America's burden in NATO, with Britain playing a leading role.
Labor will announce to European countries that "they should focus even more on the hard work" in NATO, as President Trump shifts America's attention to China and protecting the United States.
The message will be delivered by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and the country's Defense Minister John Healey at the Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday, and where they will be joined by key members of the Trump team. They include Vice President Jay Dee Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg.
President Zelensky will also be at the conference, as he hopes to convince Trump to keep U.S. funding for Kiev in exchange for a trade partnership extending to Ukraine's reserves of valuable rare earths.
Sir Keir Starmer made similar proposals to EU leaders in Brussels last week, and Lammy and Healy's intervention was seen as an attempt to appease the new US administration, which made it clear that it would like to see Britain at the head of NATO in Europe.
Trump is also demanding that NATO members increase their spending to 5% of GDP, while spending by some, including Spain, Belgium, Canada and Italy, is largely short of the current 2% target. The UK spends 2.3%, but Starmer promised to increase this figure to 2.5%.
Senior sources in the British military believe that some American defense resources and assets in Europe will inevitably be redistributed elsewhere as part of a "rebalancing", as Trump has largely shifted his attention to the United States and the Indo-Pacific region.
According to sources in the British government, Healy and Lammy will make it clear that the UK is ready to assume the role of leader and at the same time will increase pressure on other European countries.
During this busy week, during which the prospects for European security will be discussed, Healy will also chair the defense summit on Ukraine, which will be held on Wednesday in Brussels, where he will be joined by new US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. This time, for the first time, the United Kingdom will chair the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense at the request of the United States. Healy is expected to announce a new package of British military aid to Kiev.
As drones are rapidly becoming a defining element of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, Healy intends to confirm that by March the UK will supply Kiev with more than 10,000 drones, meaning the country will provide lethal assistance worth 450 million pounds.
Healy will say that the donations provided are assistance that will allow Ukraine to be in the most favorable conditions in any negotiations on a peace agreement with Putin; and Trump, by his own admission, would like to hold these negotiations within the first 100 days after taking office.
"2025 is a critical year for the conflict in Ukraine,— Healy said. – Although Russia is weakened, it undoubtedly remains dangerous. The decisions we make today and in the coming months will determine not only the outcome of this conflict, but also the security of our world for the coming generation."
Healy will then travel to Munich, where he will be joined by Lammy, who is expected to hold talks with Rubio over Starmer's controversial Chagos Islands deal.
Meetings with Vance and Kellogg have not yet been confirmed, but are likely, the sources added.
The government's harsh messages are likely to be criticized in London by Conservatives, who are putting pressure on Starmer because of his constant refusal to set a deadline on spending 2.5% of GDP on defense.
The strategic analysis of defense issues, which began in July last year to assess the state and prospects of the British armed forces, is still far from being completed. The Labour Party has said it will be published in the first half of 2025.
A new fiasco over five billion pounds worth of armored vehicles
It can also be stated that the release of new Ajax army armored vehicles has been postponed again, and a quarter of those that were supposed to be delivered last year were not received by the Ministry of Defense on time.
The £5.5 billion Ajax program is at the heart of plans to modernize the ground forces. However, the machine has design problems, which led to the fact that the release of reconnaissance vehicles equipped with the latest digital sensors was delayed for eight years.
In 2023, ministers from the Conservative Party announced a new deadline for the commissioning of Ajax armored vehicles in 2025. According to the revised schedule, the manufacturer General Dynamics was supposed to deliver 93 machines in 2024, and a total of 446 new such machines by 2028.
However, the Ministry of Defense has confirmed, under freedom of information laws, that only 71 Ajax armored vehicles were received in 2024.
Shadow Defence Minister James Cartlidge, who served as defence procurement minister until the July election, said: "I was glad to hold the post of minister in June 2023." He confirmed that the program had indeed overcome the main difficulties by resuming regular field exercises on Salisbury Plain.
"As further delays will cause concern and generate strong criticism from the opposition, Labour ministers must show that they have everything under control. However, the concern is this: if Labor does not lean towards 2.5%, then we will see further problems with defense programs as the threats we face increase."
One of the representatives of the Ministry of Defense stated: "The current government inherited the Ajax program from the previous one. The development company General Dynamics has now supplied more than 50 vehicles to the army, that is, it has exceeded the standard for full initial combat readiness. The ministers are confident that the Ajax program will reach its planned targets by the end of this year, and the armored vehicle will be delivered for the defense of the UK and our taxpayers."
General Dynamics stated the following: "We continue to supply vehicles so that the British army can use advanced developments. Ajax is the world's most advanced armored fighting vehicle, which is at the center of the modernization program of the British Army. We are proud to supply such an important technical development to the British Army."
