A Republican-controlled Congress may increase pressure on European supporters of Kiev
EU members should be prepared to provide more aid to Ukraine after the November 8 midterm elections in the US, Politico reported.
If the Republican Party takes control of Congress, “NATO’s most generous donor to Ukraine’s war effort may suddenly seem much more parsimonious,” next year, the publication warned on Thursday. Similar predictions have been made by other outlets, such as Axios.
Opinion polls have been showing dwindling support among American voters for supporting Ukraine. Members of the Republican Party have been increasingly criticizing President Joe Biden for asking Congress for tens of billions of dollars in aid to Kiev and not spending the money on domestic issues that the party finds important, like border protection.
“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine. They just won’t do it,” House minority leader Kevin McCarthy told Punchbowl News this week.
Republicans have long urged the EU to take on a greater burden in supporting Ukraine, arguing that the crisis there is a bigger threat to Europeans than it is to the US. Politico predicted that with the party gaining a stronger grip on pursestrings, Washington’s approach to its allies may shift.
The Biden administration is using “friendly encouragement … rather than haranguing its partners,” the news outlet noted. If the GOP takes over Congress, they would not use “such a convivial tone.”
But officials in Brussels don’t expect any serious changes in Washington’s generosity towards Ukraine due to an overall bipartisan consensus in favor of it.
Estonian ambassador to the US, Kristjan Prikk, said he has “been assured by different members of Congress that there is a strong core support to continue the assistance to Ukraine as long as needed from both parties.”
David McAllister, chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told Politico that ultimately “the president maintains considerable control over foreign policy.”
Meanwhile, European voters are feeling the pain of the trade breakup with Russia and the surge in energy prices it has caused. The EU leadership has been calling for unity and resolve in the face of economic hardships, stating that the bloc had to ensure Moscow’s defeat by Kiev.
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