Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fanned out to European capitals this month delivering what Hegseth characterized as a "stark" message to America's treaty allies: "Now is the time to invest [in defense], because you can't make an assumption that America's presence will last forever."

Should an AfD-led Germany withdraw from NATO, the alliance would surely collapse, as would an EU without Germany. Instead, a German-Russian alliance would fill Europe’s security vacuum and

Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the conflict between the US and Europe—and Germany in particular—has intensified day by day. Even the end of NATO can no longer be ruled out.

Friedrich Merz, who is poised to become Germany’s next chancellor, has warned Nato could be finished and Europe must prepare to build an alliance “independent” from the US.

Election winner likens the Trump administration to Putin’s Russia as he bids to take Europe in a new direction.

During the Munich Security Conference, Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that Germany is ready for a reform of the Stability and Growth Pact. This reform would involve excluding defense investments that exceed NATO's target of 2% of GDP from budgetary discipline.

Germany's likely next Chancellor Friedrich Merz questioned on Sunday whether NATO would remain in its "current form" by June in light of the comments by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, and that Europe must quickly establish an independent defence capability.

President Trump has called on NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5 percent, with only three countries currently meeting the 2 percent threshold, while NATO Secretary General Mark

Election winner Friedrich Merz on Tuesday ruled out a quick reform to Germany's state borrowing limits known as the "debt brake" and said it was too soon to say whether the outgoing parliament could wave through a massive military spending boost.