We should disarm Trump over Nato
The last time Donald Trump met Angela Merkel, the US President was pictured sitting, arms crossed, in a pose of almost childlike petulance while apparently being hectored by the German Chancellor. That was at the G7 meeting in Canada. Now they have clashed again at another international forum, the Nato summit in Brussels.
Not content with repeating his indignation over Germany’s failure to pay more towards its own defence, Mr Trump denounced Berlin’s double standards over its dependence on Russian energy supplies. He is a man not prepared to observe the usual niceties with which such meetings are conducted, even when there are tensions below the surface. In some ways his candour has the merit of honesty; but it is the antithesis of what these gatherings are supposed to be about, which is to present a united front against potential enemies.
Big geopolitical questions are raised by the US President’s démarche. Does he still subscribe to the concept of a Western democratic order sharing common values? Or has the time come to reconsider the institutional framework, both financial and military, that arose out of the Second World War and forge new global arrangements?
If Europe wants to avoid such a radical reshaping of the established structures, it would be sensible to disarm Mr Trump by addressing the issues he raises. An agreement to spend more on defence has been made before, but only a few countries have acted upon it. His demand that Nato counties should commit to spending 4 per cent of GDP, when many have not even achieved the previous 2 per cent target, looks fanciful. But greater burden-sharing is essential. Failure to do so will simply encourage Mr Trump to disengage from western Europe, to everyone’s detriment. The US has actually increased its military spending in Europe following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and adventurism in Ukraine. Yet that could change – and with Mr Trump due to meet Vladimir Putin in Helsinki next week, it could change more quickly than we realise.
This all has massive implications for the UK as it prepares to leave the EU. Does Britain ally itself even more closely with America or keep its closest diplomatic ties with Europe? We want a free-trade deal with America, yet the Chequers agreement to align the UK market to EU rules has made that almost impossible, as Mr Trump will doubtless tell Theresa May when he arrives in London tomorrow.