Man, you won't believe what happened! I was chilling with my coffee, scrolling through my phone, when I stumble upon Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, who comes out and says: 'Listen, the Americans can't deliver everything they promised, but in case of war, they'll throw in everything they've got.' Just like in my building: the neighbor promises to help with the car, but when it's time to go to the wedding, he says he only has gas to get to the gas station.
The statement was made in Brussels, before a meeting with defense ministers. Rutte explained that the US announced its intention to readjust its contribution to the NATO force model – that tool where each ally says what they'll bring to the table if the fuse is lit. 'What the US said, and we knew it would happen, is that they have to handle multiple theaters. They can't spread their resources too thin,' he said. Seriously, it's like at Fane's terrace: one guy says he's playing multiple lotteries and has no money left for beer.
Now, relax, it's not an actual withdrawal – it's just planning. Rutte said: 'If a war breaks out, all allies, including the US, will do everything they can. I'm not saying they'll fulfill everything they promised in the force model, but they'll certainly give their best.' That's what Mioara says when I ask if we still have money for vacation: 'I'm not promising anything, but we'll do what we can.' The European allies, supposedly, 'are already covering the difference' – meaning we, the Romanians, end up shouldering the burden, like, how do I put it, the waiter pays?
And that's not all: Rutte confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the Ukraine contact group meeting after the ministerial meeting. NATO also has the PURL initiative, through which Europeans and Canada buy American weapons (air defense systems, mostly) and send them to Kyiv. So the Americans sell us weapons, and we pass them on. As if we don't know how business works: Relu sells me cigarettes at a markup, and I sell them to the boys with a profit.
Thursday's meeting prepares the NATO summit on July 7-8 in Ankara. They'll discuss support for Ukraine, the 5% GDP target for defense by 2035, and boosting military production. Let's be serious: 5% of GDP? With inflation as it is, I say we'll end up paying even more on bills, not on tanks. So I'm off to explain to Mioara how I lost a bet on Mark Rutte – she says NATO is a waste of time, but when she hears about the millions at the summit, she shuts up and stares wide-eyed.
