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EXPERT COMMENT

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week joined EU heads of government for a dinner in Brussels – the first British leader to do so since Brexit. On the menu: transatlantic relations and defence.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has further increased doubts about US commitment to European security and reignited European countries’ concerns about their ability to defend themselves. It has also complicated the response to these issues. Most EU countries rightfully want to keep the US engaged in European security. One way of doing so is by purchasing more American weapons. The other is by allowing third country participation in EU defence industrial programmes – something France broadly opposes.

Trump’s re-election has come at a particularly bad time for the European defence industrial base. European countries were just beginning to think more seriously about how to ensure they can defend their continent without dependencies on other countries. 

As Trump demands that European nations increase defence spending or face Russia on their own, Europeans know that – given Trump’s transactional nature – purchasing US equipment would (temporarily) appease him. However, doing so would come at the expense of public money being spent in Europe, on European jobs in European companies.

This makes the context for Starmer’s trip to Brussels all the more complicated. Internally, EU countries are still building consensus on how much defence investment is needed, and through what means. Externally, this discussion is taking place in the context of the UK government’s UK–EU reset.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.