The best days for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are of the past of the beginning of its end has already begun and for that, the credit largely goes to President Trump of the United States and the European Union. While NATO will still remain as one of the backbones of global security for decades, its dominant position will be challenged over the coming decade.

During his election campaign, President Trump has been very critical of NATO, calling it obsolete and urging all of its 29 members to pay their fair share. Only a handful of members of NATO currently comply with the 2 percent GDP military spending requirement and during his first visit to NATO headquarter in Brussels, President Trump has once again asked NATO members to fulfill their commitments. While he has been more restrained during his Presidency, the candidate Trump once suggested that United States may not abide by NATO’s Article 5 commitment and come to the rescue of a country which is not contributing its fair share.

Some leaders of the European Union, now, sees an opportunity for what they have aspired for long; to make a separate pan-EU military force. After meeting with President Trump at the NATO and at the G-7, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that those days are of the past when the block can completely rely on others and the Union needs to take its future into its own hands. There were reports that the Chancellor and the newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron had extensive talks to build an EU defense fund, which will collectively look at the security of the bloc.

The latest comments that indicate the beginning of the end of NATO came from the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who had previously called on Europe to resist bullying from the United States over NATO spending. He said speaking at Prague, “War is anchored in Europe's history. The memories of terror and bloodshed are still all too vivid for many people in this country and in all of Europe…………The protection of Europe can no longer be outsourced. Even our biggest military powers — and I could count them on one, maximum two, fingers — cannot combat all the challenges and threats alone………Over the past decade, it has become crystal clear that our American partners consider that they are shouldering too much of the burden for their wealthy European allies. We have no other choice than to defend our own interests in the Middle East, on climate change, in our trade agreements”.

Europe is seriously considering to set up separate collective security forces for the Union, an effort which failed in the past but now the pro-European technocrats see a window of opportunity by citing President Trump’s demand to pay more towards NATO.