European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said she would propose a new security forum for EU and like-minded leaders in response to escalating Russian hybrid attacks and fraying transatlantic relations. "The urgency is clear." The proposal underscores growing fears that Europe is unable to deal with fast proliferating airspace violations, cyberattacks and sabotage attempts amid tensions linked to Russia’s full-scale in Ukraine, with NATO reluctant to escalate its response amid fears of setting off a war with Russia. NATO has also been mired in feuding with the U.S.
President Donald Trump, who threatened to annex Greenland earlier this year and is recalibrating U.S. forces in Europe, fueling doubts over Washington’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance. Resurfacing after an EU split over the 2003 Iraq war, the idea was given fresh impetus in 2017 by former EU executive chief Jean-Claude Juncker and French President Emmanuel Macron, but that failed thanks to U.K. reluctance.
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