Putting world in order?

It may seem somewhat ironic that, at a time when Britain is busting a gut to leave the EU, our Prime Minister is calling on Europe to unite. But despite our indecent haste to extricate ourselves from the European Union, Theresa May’s call to EU nations to unite in its support for NATO is vitally important.

While Mrs May has received short shrift from her former EU allies over Brexit, we trust they will listen to her on NATO. During a visit to Malta, Theresa May urged her European counterparts to increase their defence spending. Her call comes at a time when Russia is flexing its military muscles, and Donald Trump is suspected (though he told the PM that he is “100% behind NATO”) of being lukewarm towards the “peace-keeping” organisation. The UK and US are among just a handful of NATO members to meet the pledge of spending two per cent of GDP on defence, and Mrs May used her meeting in Valetta to urge colleagues to step up efforts to share the burden. It is vital, not only to Europe, and that includes ourselves, but also to the wider world, that NATO is seen as a credible force when it comes to dealing with aggressors. Some will argue that NATO is a toothless and expensive waste of time. Yet, give it some teeth (and that means everyone paying their share) and it could become a genuine deterrent to any hawks of war. And if the USA does decide to turn its back on NATO, then it is vital that Europe does not. After all, the world has twice seen the horror that comes from a divided Europe. We don’t want to see it again.