State of the Union: Biden’s NATO Summit and Orban’s Self-Proclaimed Peace Mission

This article was originally published in English

What a week, and what a bad week for nationalist and populist forces!

French voters have surprised the far right by removing it from power in the second round of early legislative elections.

At the European level, the proliferation of far-right parliamentary groups is eroding populist influence within the European Parliament.

Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a self-proclaimed messenger of peace, has discovered to his cost how little weight he has in the real world.

Days into Hungary’s EU Council presidency, Orbán travelled to Moscow and Beijing on what he pompously called a “peace mission” aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

Not only did he come back empty-handed, but the rest of the EU read it to him as well.

“No one has the right, without Ukraine and in the name of Ukraine, to decide on the future peace and its form.” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who will take over the EU Council presidency in January.

“No one has the right to speak on behalf of Poland or the entire European Union without full agreement with Ukraine and with all of us regarding possible talks with Moscow. (…) I will personally and effectively keep an eye on this issue within the European Union.“, he added.

Some member states are so angry with Budapest that they even want to shorten the duration of the Hungarian presidency. This does not seem to be going anywhere, but the first Council meetings chaired by Hungary were snubbed by ministers who sent officials instead.

Hungary could feel its isolation even more at the NATO summit in Washington, where US President Joe Biden said of Vladimir Putin, Orbán’s close friend, that “Putin wants nothing less, nothing less“.

“Putin wants nothing less, nothing less, than the total subjugation of Ukraine to end Ukrainian democracy, destroy Ukraine and Ukrainian culture, and wipe Ukraine off the map. And we know that Putin will not stop at Ukraine. But make no mistake: Ukraine can and will stop Putin.“, Mr. Biden said.

The Washington summit was meant to present a united front and show that in its 75th year, the alliance is stronger than ever. But it was overshadowed by a series of crises, of which the question of President Biden’s fitness to hold office at age 81 was probably the least.

NATO will face major challenges

So what does the future hold for NATO? We spoke to Ian Lesser, Executive Director of the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels office.

Euronews: President Biden has called the alliance the most unified it has ever been. But behind the scenes, the mood has been rather gloomy. What are the biggest challenges for NATO going forward?

Ian Lesser: First of all, even though it is the 75th anniversary and it has, in a way, a festive character, there is a war going on in Europe. Relations with Russia are increasingly dangerous. There is also a very competitive relationship with China. But it is primarily about deterring and defending against Russia, but also providing Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself.

Euronews: NATO is trying to protect itself against the disruptions and crises that Donald Trump could cause if he were to return, by trying to shelter itself from Trump, so to speak. Can this actually work?

Ian Lesser: Well, NATO has experienced this. Of course, we don’t know what the outcome will be in Washington. But even if Mr. Biden is re-elected, NATO will face great challenges, regardless of the American administration that continues to come to Europe and ask Europe to spend more and do more. And of course, NATO has already done some of this work. But the challenges and the needs are very great. But, of course, this is a much more pointed question. If Trump is re-elected and there is a willingness to try to put Europe in a more stable position in this regard.

Euronews: There is Trump, but there is also the rise of far-right forces hostile to NATO in Europe. How serious is this problem for the alliance?

Ian Lesser: Well, the far right, but also, in some cases, the left, parties that do not always support the transatlantic relationship. That, too, is a problem for me. It can be a problem in terms of policy toward Russia, support for Ukraine, defense spending. Many parties that are seeking power in Europe want to spend money on other things, on social programs, at a time when defense requires more spending. And that demand is likely to continue for years to come. So, in a way, there are tensions politically on both sides of the Atlantic.

Euronews: Finally, there’s a new Secretary General in town – is Mark Rutte the right man to lead NATO through turbulent waters?

Ian Lesser: Everything that is done in NATO, from the smallest to the largest thing, is done by consensus. And there are few things more important than the choice of a Secretary General in very difficult times. So I think the fact that Mark Rutte was chosen with great support, without much controversy, says a lot about where the Alliance wants to go and the degree of confidence that it has in his leadership. But I think that is probably correct.