The writing is on the wall for Europe, the US cannot be relied upon for defence
For Europe the writing is on the wall, it can no longer rely on the US as an ally, especially if America continues on the current trajectory it has been on under President Donald Trump.
The dangers of becoming reliant on a superpower to cover shortcomings in defence are all too apparent. The war in Iran shows the unpredictability that comes with a Trump administration.
And it is clear that America’s commitment to Nato is no longer a cast iron guarantee with Trump insisting once again that Greenland should be a part of the US.
He said the dispute over Greenland, which belongs to Nato ally Denmark, earlier this year had “hurt my relationship with Nato”, and suggested the US could pull all its troops out of Europe.
Trump’s comments cannot be dismissed as empty threats. The US President has shown that he is willing to burn bridges with allies if he does not get his way.
Nato general-secretary Mark Rutte insists that the US remained committed to Nato “no doubt”, but had an “expectation” that allies would “equalise” their defence spending with America.
All allies must now produce credible plans for meeting the target of spending five per cent of GDP on defence.
Before the start of the Nato summit in Turkey, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for “unity”. But the reality is that every nation must bolster its defence capabilities. Something that Britain itself is falling woefully short on.
The defence investment plan (Dip) announced last week simply does not cut the mustard.