Europe should give more to Nato than US
The death of Lord Carrington at the age of 99 marks not only the passing of an elder statesman but serves as a reminder of his time as Secretary General of Nato. On the eve of a critical summit of the alliance to be attended by Donald Trump, it is striking to recall the circumstances in Europe during his term of office between 1984 and 1988.
The continent was still in the icy grip of the Cold War, even if the first signs of the end of communism were beginning to be seen. During his tenure, Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader and began the reforms that would lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It is highly pertinent to the political debate today that Lord Carrington’s diplomatic skills were needed most to deal with demands from the US Congress that the European allies should increase defence spending or face the removal of American forces if they did not.
Carrington was credited with facilitating greater burden-sharing and encouraging higher defence spending from the Europeans. Now, 30 years later, another US president is coming to Brussels with exactly the same message: Europe must spend more on its own defence and security. In an inevitably tweeted statement before leaving for Europe, Mr Trump said: “The United States is spending far more on Nato than any other country. This is not fair, nor is it acceptable. While these countries have been increasing their contributions since I took office, they must do much more.”
Mr Trump is right. They must do more. This has been a long-standing complaint of the Americans and they are entitled to make it; and yet because it is Mr Trump, the EU and his critics on the Left consider him to be acting unreasonably. His detractors have also denounced remarks he has made about “turmoil” in British politics and his support for Brexit; yet, oddly, the very same people welcomed a direct intervention by Barack Obama in the 2016 referendum campaign. The double standards will not be lost on Mr Trump.
It is unacceptable for Germany to spend just over 1 per cent of GDP on defence, while running a massive trade surplus with the rest of the world and relying on the Americans to maintain high levels of military investment to defend Europe. For Donald Tusk, the EU council president, to accuse Mr Trump of acting in an unfriendly manner is breathtaking given America’s contribution in blood and treasure to Europe’s security.