The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the rapid collapse of Kabul's government which the West propped up for nearly 20 years, has led European leaders to reevaluate their security policy and ties regarding Washington. Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell argued for the creation of an EU army outside the auspices of NATO.
The crisis in Afghanistan has “scarred” European nations' relations with the United States, and demonstrated that the pre-Trump ‘Old Normal' in US-European relations no longer exists, former senior European officials have told the BBC.
“Expectations were very high when Joe Biden came in – probably too high, they were unrealistic,” Carl Bildt, the former prime minister of Sweden who is now a hawkish proponent of the West's ‘nation-building' in Afghanistan and the Middle East, told the broadcaster.
“There was a time when the US talked about upholding the global order. But that is not the language now coming out of the White House. Expectations for a revival of the transatlantic relationship have deflated. And one is resigned to an America that does things does its own way,” the former premier said.
Loiseau pointed that as well as France, “some other countries”, including Germany and the UK, believed they could rely on the US for security. “So, of course, they're fearing times have changed. But we've often said we should rethink how NATO works. We…
