EU Considering Its Own Army and Nuclear Arsenal as US Withdraws

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just meet your NATO financial goals?

No, and no.

I've always understood that part of the design of NATO is that it assumes the US will be present and fighting. So a NATO force without US support would be missing vital parts, no matter how good the European parts were. So if the EU is worried that it can't count on the US, putting together a complete, stand-alone EU military makes sense, whether they stay in NATO or not.