EU-US trade row looms over NATO defence meet
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on 6 June that he was battling to stop the increasingly bitter row between Europe and the US spilling over into the alliance, warning of ‘serious disagreements’ among member countries.
European countries are at loggerheads with Washington over punishing new US tariffs on steel and aluminium as well as President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and Paris climate accord.
NATO defence ministers will meet in Brussels on 7 June to approve plans to beef up the alliance’s ability to mobilise forces quickly in the event of a crisis, as concern about the threat from Russia shows no sign of abating.
They will also sign off on two new command centres – one to protect Atlantic shipping lanes, based in Norfolk, Virginia, and another to coordinate troop movements around Europe, located in the southern German city of Ulm.
But the meeting, just five weeks out from a full summit of NATO leaders, looks set to be overshadowed by the spat between European countries and their longtime ally across the Atlantic.
Stoltenberg told reporters, saying he was working hard to minimise the fallout for the alliance: ‘There are now serious disagreements with NATO allies on serious issues. As long as they’re not solved I have to be focused on how to reduce, limit the negative consequences for NATO.’
Stoltenberg insisted the ‘transatlantic bond’ remained strong and pointed to the way NATO survived major differences among members over the Iraq war in 2003 and the Suez crisis of 1956.
Stoltenberg said: ‘What we have seen again and again is that we have been able to unite around NATO’s core task, to protect and defend each other despite those differences.’
The leaders of all 29 NATO members will meet in Brussels for the summit in July 2018 when all eyes will be on Trump, who has repeatedly attacked European countries for not pulling their weight in the alliance.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has suffered the worst of Trump’s wrath for its failure to live up to a pledge by all NATO countries to try to spend at least two percent of gross domestic product on defence.
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![SOF Week 2026: US military tests AI algorithm to support missions in low-light scenarios]()
SOF Week 2026: US military tests AI algorithm to support missions in low-light scenarios
The US Army and USAF are evaluating an AI-enabled imaging capability from Deepnight designed to enhance low-light and no-light operations across multiple platforms and environments.
-
![Industrial capacity under scrutiny as US approves further $8.6 billion Middle East arms sale]()
Industrial capacity under scrutiny as US approves further $8.6 billion Middle East arms sale
The fast-tracked emergency approvals come as the conflict in the Middle East stretches out into its third month, after Iranian attacks depleted US allies’ missile stockpiles and testing air defence systems.
-
![Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)]()
Intelligence innovation: From data overload to decision advantage (Podcast)
As militaries face an overwhelming flow of data, the challenge is shifting from collection to delivering fast, actionable insights that drive decision-making. Advances in AI and data integration are helping armed forces move beyond siloed systems to generate real-time intelligence across domains and allies.
-
![SAHA 2026 to Convene the Global Defence Ecosystem]()
SAHA 2026 to Convene the Global Defence Ecosystem
SAHA 2026 brings global defence and aerospace leaders to Istanbul for partnerships, launches, panels and high-value meetings.
-
![Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms]()
Teledyne FLIR adds GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities to its CBRN uncrewed platforms
In a partnership with Emesent, Teledyne FLIR will equip its autonomous air, ground and detection systems with the Hovermap LiDAR payload in a move that highlights a broader market shift towards modular architectures, shared payloads and interoperability across platforms.
-
![US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors]()
US seeks 32% boost for missile defence budget with $23 billion earmarked for interceptors
The Pentagon’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes an impressive increase in the procurement of interceptors, with the number of the US Army’s PAC-3 MSE rounds expanding by 683%, the US Navy’s Standard Missile by 365% and the MDA’s SM-3 IIA by more than 1,000%.
