Sec. 1233. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EUROPEAN SECURITY
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## SEC. 1233 SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EUROPEAN SECURITY ###
(a)Findings Congress finds the following: ####
(1)Russia’s ongoing aggressive actions, including its invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, threats to North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)allies, rapid military modernization, advanced anti-access and area denial capabilities, increasing military activity in the Arctic region and Mediterranean Sea, evolving nuclear doctrine and capabilities, and violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Treaty on Open Skies, constitute a major challenge to the security interests of the United States and its allies and partners in Europe. ####
(2)Russia’s ongoing malign influence activities, including misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, cyberattacks, election interference, active measures, and hybrid warfare operations pose not only a threat to the security interests of the United States and its allies and partners in Europe, but to the integrity of Western democracies and the institutions and alliances they support. ####
(3)Russia’s doctrine of “escalate to de-escalate”, along with its tactical nuclear capabilities, threaten United States forces and European allies and exacerbate the risk of miscalculation and escalation in a crisis. ####
(4)The European Deterrence Initiative
(EDI)continues to improve credible deterrence against Russian aggression by— #####
(A)training and equipping military forces of NATO allies and European partners; #####
(B)enhancing the indications and warning, interoperability, and logistics capabilities of United States allies and partners; and #####
(C)improving the agility and flexibility of partners and allies to address threats across the full spectrum of domains. ####
(5)A strong NATO alliance is the cornerstone of transatlantic security cooperation and the guarantor of peace and stability in Europe. ####
(6)The steps taken at the NATO 2014 Wales Summit and the NATO 2016 Warsaw Summit, including the adoption and implementation of the Readiness Action Plan (RAP), the formation of the Very High Joint Readiness Force (VJTF), the Enhanced Forward Presence
(EFP)multinational battalions deployed to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, and the Tailored Forward Presence in Romania and Bulgaria, have strengthened NATO readiness and collective defense. ####
(7)Montenegro’s accession into NATO is a strong step toward strengthening the alliance, enhancing security and stability in Southeastern Europe, and reaffirming NATO’s commitment to an “Open Door” policy. ####
(8)Cooperation with non-NATO allies and members of the Partnership for Peace program enhances security and stability in Europe. ###
(b)Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— ####
(1)the United States should support a Europe whole, free, and at peace and the sovereign right of all European states to pursue integration into the Euro-Atlantic community through institutions such as NATO and the European Union; ####
(2)the United States should develop and implement a policy and strategy backed by all elements of United States power to deter and, if necessary, defeat Russian aggression, which will require— #####
(A)enhancing United States military capability and capacity in Europe, including strong consideration of investments in increased permanently-stationed and continued rotational forces as well as the facilities and infrastructure necessary to support United States presence and training with its allies and partners; and #####
(B)strengthening United States capability and capacity to counter malign Russian influence, including Russian hybrid warfare operations short of traditional armed conflict, malicious Russian cyber activities, and Russia’s use of misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda; ####
(3)investments that support the security and stability of Europe, including the EDI, and support to European countries in further developing their security capabilities, are in the long-term national security interests of the United States, and as such, funds for such efforts should be included in the President’s base budget request for the Department of Defense in order to fully support United States combat capability in Europe, facilitate efficient planning and execution, and ensure budgetary transparency; ####
(4)the United States should maintain an ironclad commitment to its obligations under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which declares that an “armed attack against one or more [NATO allies] shall be considered an attack against them all”; ####
(5)while NATO allies have made progress toward high levels of defense spending, it is important that all NATO allies fulfill their commitments to levels and composition of defense expenditures as agreed upon at the NATO 2014 Wales Summit and NATO 2016 Warsaw Summit in order to uphold their obligations under Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty to “maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack”; ####
(6)NATO allies should continue to coordinate defense investments to both improve deterrence against Russian aggression and more appropriately balance defense spending across the alliance; and ####
(7)because the NATO alliance defends not only the common security of the United States and its NATO allies, but our common values as well, it is essential that all NATO allies uphold their obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty to “safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law”.