Fate of Europe should be in its own hands

Staff members work at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

When commenting on the Ukraine crisis at a news briefing on Friday, United Nations Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the world body would like to see peace in Ukraine, not the deployment of new weapons in the region.

Yet recent developments show the United States is intent on fanning the flames of the conflict and it will not stop supplying Ukraine with weapons any time soon.

Negotiators in the US Congress unveiled a $1.7 trillion government funding bill on Monday that includes $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and the US' NATO allies.

Since the Ukraine crisis broke out on Feb 24, the US has already committed more than $21.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, with much of that going to US arms manufacturers.

And with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky continuing to urge Washington and other Western capitals to supply his country with a wide range of weapons systems and other military support, it seems the US is only too happy to oblige.

Last week, US officials confirmed that the Pentagon has prepared plans to transfer Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine if approved by US President Joe Biden.

Nor is it just the US defense giants and defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon that are making huge profits. US companies in the energy sector, which are price gouging European countries in their time of need, are also raking in the money.

With the hostilities showing no sign of abating, some politicians in Europe have already become aware of the truth that their transatlantic ally seeks to prolong the conflict to drag down Russia, weaken Europe, and strengthen the dependence of Europe on the US.

At the same time, the US Inflation Reduction Act is drawing increasing displeasure and opposition from the European Union as the US plan to pour billions of dollars into environmentally friendly industries will cause a drain on the bloc's industry as many European companies will be drawn to the US.

Not to mention that the US, while peddling its zero-sum thinking, is lobbying its European allies to increase export controls against China and dragging it deeper into a fierce confrontation with China, even though Washington clearly knows the painful price Europe will have to pay.

The fact of the matter is the US is taking advantage of the Ukraine crisis to advance its own interests, and in doing so it has no qualms about sacrificing the interests of its allies on the altar of that agenda.

The European countries should dissuade themselves of any notion that there is a transatlantic friendship. In Washington's eyes, they are simply pawns to be used. It is time they took the fate of the continent into their own hands.