The United States spends a significant amount of money annually to defend Europe, primarily through its contributions to NATO and the maintenance of U.S. military bases in Europe. The exact amount can vary from year to year, but it is generally estimated to be in the range of $30 billion to $50 billion per year. This includes costs related to troop deployments, military exercises, infrastructure, and the operation of bases in countries like Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Additionally, the U.S. contributes to various NATO budgets, including the NATO Security Investment Program (NSIP) and the NATO common-funded budgets, which support collective defense efforts across Europe. The U.S. is the largest contributor to NATO, typically covering around 22% of the direct funding, which amounts to several billion dollars annually.
Since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, writes The Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget, “Congress has now approved nearly $175 billion of aid and military assistance to support the Ukrainian government and allied nations two years after Russia launched its invasion. The most recent national security-related supplemental includes $61.7 billion for Ukraine, 64 percent of the total budget authority included within the law, with the remainder dedicated to Israel and the Indo-Pacific region. This is on top of the $113.1 billion of emergency spending previously approved throughout 2022.”
The purpose for defending Europe, we are told, revolves around America’s commitment to protect democracy and freedom on the continent against potential totalitarianism from Russia or other European neighbors.
That bill would be easier to swallow if Europeans acted like they believed in American values like freedom of expression, but that may be a hurdle too high for them to jump over. On Monday, European Commissioner Thierry Breton issued a warning to Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, that the company could face penalities stemming from the billionaire’s interviewing of Donald Trump on the website, writes CNBC.
The European Commission on Monday warned X Corp. owner Elon Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino that the company may face penalties and restrictions in Europe if it doesn’t address the spread of illegal content, including incitements to violence and hate speech, on its social media platform.
“I am writing to you in the context of recent events in the United Kingdom and in relation to the planned broadcast on your platform X of a live conversation between a US presidential candidate and yourself, which will also be accessible to users in the EU,” Thierry Breton, European commissioner for the internal market, wrote in a letter that was posted Monday on X.
“We are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections,” wrote Breton.
“I therefore urge you to promptly ensure the effectiveness of your systems and to report measures taken to my team,” he added.
With great audience comes greater responsibility #DSA
As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in 🇪🇺 in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk
📧⤵️ pic.twitter.com/P1IgxdPLzn
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) August 12, 2024
Twitter’s CEO Linda Yaccarino slammed the letter, calling it an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the United States.
This is an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US. It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions. https://t.co/RmxL4VFuvV
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) August 12, 2024
Last month, EU tech regulators determined that Twitter violated the DSA by misleading users with its use of blue checkmarks. In response, Twitter disagreed with the EU’s evaluation of its DSA compliance, while owner Musk threatened legal action.
The EU’s move comes as Great Britain’s new ruling Labour Party has announced a crackdown against online speech, including threatening speech made from the United States.
The New York Post wrote that “London’s Metropolitan Police chief warned that officials will not only be cracking down on British citizens for commentary on the riots in the UK, but on American citizens as well.
‘We will throw the full force of the law at people. And whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,’ Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News.
One key aspect that makes this apparent crackdown on social media particularly shocking to critics is that the British government is threatening to extradite American citizens from the U.S. to be jailed in the U.K. for violating their rules about political speech online.”
Musk interviewed Donald Trump live on Twitter at 8 PM Eastern Time on Monday evening. The event was preceded by Trump’s return to Twitter earlier in the day.
“TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!” https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/0mMyATtbkJ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2024
This article originally appeared on New Conservative Post. Used with Permission.
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