Twenty-five years since the fall of communism, the idea of “Europe whole and free” is under attack. The continent is threatened by the aggressive posture of Vladimir Putin’s regime but also by centrifugal forces in the European Union, particularly in Greece and in the United Kingdom.
The coming years will test viability of the current political order in Europe, with potentially profound implications for transatlantic relations.
1.) Will your administration provide lethal aid to Ukraine? Because of its history of dysfunction and chronic underinvestment in its defense capabilities, Ukraine is not in a position to defend itself against further Russian aggression in the Donbass – and neither is it even remotely able to reverse the outcome of last year’s annexation of Crimea. Because the United States is among the signatories of the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, guaranteeing the territorial integrity of Ukraine, it is legitimate to ask what the new president would be willing to do to help Ukrainians to secure their borders. “The administration should request, and Congress should immediately authorize and appropriate, $1 billion in assistance to bolster Kyiv’s defense and deterrence capabilities as rapidly as possible in 2015, with additional tranches of $1 billion to be provided in FY 2016 and FY 2017,” a report by a number of former high-level US diplomats and officials argued earlier this year. Are presidential candidates willing to follow this advice?
Read the full article at the American Enterprise Institute: 5 questions every presidential candidate should answer: Europe edition