LE BACKLASH!
After Trump coup, rattled leaders reject UK help on US
FRANCOIS Hollande yesterday attacked Theresa May for acting as a go-between with US President Donald Trump.
Questioning her triumphant visit to the White House last month, the French leader rejected the idea of the UK being ‘delegated’ to talk to Washington.
EU leaders also joined in the backlash, telling Mrs May she had no right to speak on their behalf, and snubbed her offer to act as a ‘bridge’ with Mr Trump.
The Prime Minister also appeared to have been snubbed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel when a crucial face-toface meeting was mysteriously cancelled at short notice. The row developed after
‘Should be some respect’
days of increasing animosity between Brussels and Mr Trump, who has suggested the future of the EU is doubt.
At a tense meeting of EU leaders in Malta yesterday, designed to be primarily about refugees from Libya, Mrs May insisted that the US President understood the historic relationship between Europe and America.
But over lunch, the PM also conveyed concerns from Washington that EU countries are not contributing enough towards Nato.
She urged fellow leaders to hit Nato’s target of spending two per cent of GDP on defence, suggesting this could help mend Transatlantic relations. However, she was caught in the crossfire as EU member states face turmoil over their relationship with Mr Trump.
EU leaders warned that he could ‘trample on’ the continent if they did not agree an appropriate response to the supposed ‘threat’ posed by him.
Striking a more conciliatory tone, European Council president Donald Tusk said Britain could help secure a peaceful relationship between the US and Europe even after Brexit. He said: ‘We need as strong a transatlantic relationship as possible and the UK can, inside the EU or outside... be very helpful.’
But his comments were undermined by Mr Hollande, who said Mr Trump’s criticism of the EU was ‘unacceptable’.
He said: ‘When Donald Trump said it was wonderful for a European country to leave the European Union, he should not get involved in this. We are partners. There should therefore be some respect.’
Referring to Mrs May’s attempt to act as a peacemaker, he said: ‘Of course it is not about asking one particular country, be it the UK or any other, to represent Europe in its relationship with the United States.’ Mr Hollande also bragged that France would soon become Europe’s biggest military power.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said the EU did not need Mrs May to act as a bridge because member states can ‘communicate with the Americans on Twitter’. Last night, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson further cemented ties with the Trump administration with a ten-minute phone call with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The pair discussed Nato and the value of the PM’s visit to Washington last week.