Trump ‘praying’ for weaker EU
BOLIVIA’S interim government has named an ambassador to the US for the first time in more than a decade, amid a redrawing of the South American nation’s international ties that has seen traditional allies Venezuela and Cuba shunned.
Bolivian foreign policy has shifted under the leadership of conservative interim President Jeanine Anez, a senator who took over after long-term leftist leader Evo Morales resigned under pressure earlier this month.
Walter Oscar Serrate Cuellar has been named as ambassador to the US, the first such action since 2008, when Morales expelled then US ambassador Philip Goldberg, accusing him of promoting separatist movements in the country. The US then expelled the Bolivian ambassador.
Morales resigned earlier this month and fled to Mexico following protests that broke out in response to his re-election for a fourth term and the military’s calls for him to step down. He maintains it was a coup, which his supporters have been protesting against.
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump poses one of the biggest challenges for the EU as he is “praying” for the breakup of the bloc, says outgoing European Council president Donald Tusk.
Trump has welcomed Britain’s decision to leave the EU, labelling Europe a trade “foe” and questioning the value of the transatlantic defence alliance Nato.
“For the first time in history, there is an American president who is openly against a united Europe. He supports Brexit and prays for the break-up of the union,” said Tusk.
He portrayed Trump as determined to weaken the EU and said this was “perhaps the most difficult challenge” for the organisation.
Meanwhile, Nato is expected to ask a group of “wise persons” to help reform the alliance after Trump questioned its relevance and French President Emmanuel Macron said it was dying.
At a London summit on December 4 marking Nato’s 70th anniversary, leaders of the 29 member states will try to put on a show of unity but face questions about the future of the US-led alliance.
Washington’s allies in Europe and Canada are uncertain what to expect from Trump after he criticised Germany at a Nato summit in 2018 and mulled quitting the alliance before praising it and taking credit for promised reforms.
Since then, Macron has also vented his frustration, over what French diplomats say is Nato’s lack of coordination at a political level and a failure to tackle taboo subjects. In Macron’s words, Nato is “experiencing brain death”.
His remarks followed a US troop withdrawal from Syria which prompted Turkey to launch an offensive against YPG militia in northern Syria, which it sees as terrorists, although they helped
Washington defeat Islamic State.
To address the concerns about Nato’s future, the summit is likely to adopt a Franco-German proposal to create a group of respected figures under alliance secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, diplomats said.
The “wise persons” would report back in 2021, when Nato is due to hold its next summit, setting the ground for reform.
“The aim is to secure a ‘re-balanced transatlantic alliance’,” said a senior French diplomat, with Europe recognising Washington was carrying too much weight.
As a gesture to Trump, a summit deal is expected for US allies to share more of Nato’s running costs and reduce Washington’s share of annual funding for Nato headquarters and staff from 2021. Leaders are also set to meet a US demand that European allies have more Nato battalions, ships and planes ready for combat as deterrence against a potential Russian attack.
Nato was created in 1949 to confront the threat of the communist Soviet Union but found renewed purpose after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Nato is now under pressure to help solve some of the world’s most intractable crises.
This is sensitive for Germany, which is Europe’s biggest economy but has struggled with outdated weaponry and does not aim to meet Nato’s minimum spending target for individual nations until 2031.
Yesterday, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel came out in favour of increased sales of German armaments to African countries to combat terrorism on the continent.
The German army has been involved in training the national forces in Mali since 2013 after large parts of the West African country fell under the control of Islamist militants.