Europe urged to form ‘European NATO’ as Article 5 is ‘effectively dead’ | World | News

A British Army officer turned MP has warned NATO’s Article 5 is “effectively dead” and says Europe needs to form its own alliance without the US. Lib Dem MP Mike Martin, who sits on the Defence Committee, says the Government needs to reconsider its faith in Article 5 – the cornerstone of NATO security.

The Afghanistan veteran says Europe must develop its own collective alliance, dubbed EATO, led by Britain or France as the continent’s two sole nuclear powers. He told the Express: “What I would like to see is a serious assessment as to whether they [the Government] think Article 5 is dead. I think it is and so do our European allies. And if that is the case, the next logical progression is collective defence in Europe under British leadership, because it’s either got to be us or the French.”

“When you are voting with Belarus and North Korea something is seriously wrong,” he said, referencing the US siding with Russia in voting against a recent UN resolution regarding the war.

“What he just did was turn on Europe in support of Russia. It’s shocking. Trump is treating the world as a jungle where you do deals with good and bad if it serves his interests.”

He expressed fears that peace talks between the US and Russia – which so far have excluded Ukraine – “looks like appeasement”.

Asked if Europe needs to form ‘European NATO’, Mr Ellwood added: “One hundred percent. We can’t take the risk that the US wouldn’t leave us and he is just blustering.

“We can’t play games with European security. If Putin is on the advance, and his objective remains to take all of Ukraine, then we need to be prepared for that.

“That means going on our own. We need the courage to recognise America has altered its post-World War 2 relationship with Europe. We are in a very dark place now, but this is where people step up.”

Mr Martin said EATO could work with nations spending 3% of GDP on defence.

The Government announced defence spending will increase from 2.3% to 2.5% by 2027 – but the Lib Dem MP warned that is “failing to rise to the moment”.

He said: “We’re in a national emergency and we need to treat it like that.

“The response was totally missing the scale of the challenge that we’re facing. It doesn’t grasp the nettle at all.”

He also warned the UK is in a situation akin to the 1930s, in the years before the outbreak of WW2.

He said: “Certainly this period is analogous to the 1930s and that was a period of rearmament in Europe. The question is are we 1935 now and we’ve got a few years to go or are we 1938 and it’s literally right round the corner.”

On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer convened a summit of European leaders in London to discuss the war.

After the talks, he said Europe must realise it is “not a moment for more talk, it is time to act” and unveiled a four-step plan discussed by the leaders.

This included a pledge to “develop a coalition of the willing” to defend a deal in Ukraine and guarantee a peace settlement.

He told MPs on Monday that the UK must “lead from the front”.