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EU Chief Warns Trump to 'Appreciate Your Allies'

by VOA News

   European Council President Donald Tusk responded forcefully to U.S.
   President Donald Trump's claim NATO member nations do not spend enough
   money to defend themselves.

   In a tweet Tusk wrote, "Dear @realDonaldTrump. US doesn't have and
   won't have a better ally than EU. We spend on defense much more than
   Russia and as much as China. I hope you have no doubt this is an
   investment in our security, which cannot be said with confidence about
   Russian & Chinese spending :-)"

   During[1] remarks, offered Tuesday in Brussels, Tusk asked Trump to
   remember the long-standing U.S.-NATO relationship, urging the president
   to "appreciate your allies, after all you don't have that many."

   Before he boarded Air Force One for a meeting with NATO leaders in
   Brussels, Trump dismissed Tusk's remark about the lack of U.S. allies.

   "We do have a lot of allies," Trump told reporters. "But we cannot be
   taken advantage of. We're being taken advantage of by the European
   Union."

   Trump criticized NATO member nations earlier Tuesday.

   Hours before departing Washington for Brussels, Trump said, "The U.S.
   is spending many times more than any other country in order to protect
   them. Not fair to the U.S. taxpayer. On top of that we lose $151
   Billion on Trade with the European Union. Charge us big Tariffs (&
   Barriers)!"

   Since taking office in 2017, Trump affirmed the U.S. commitment to the
   defense of NATO allies, but he has continued to criticize NATO's
   funding, arguing Washington is shouldering too much of the financial
   burden.

   During a rally last week in Montana, Trump vowed that he would "tell
   NATO: 'You've got to start paying your bills.'" The president also said
   that Americans were "the schmucks that are paying for the whole
   thing.''

   NATO says the United States funded about 70 percent of its expenses in
   2017.
   NATO's 29 members contribute funds to the organization according to the
   size of their economies. Member nations committed in 2006 to spend two
   percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024, but NATO
   estimates that not all members will meet the target.
   The upcoming NATO summit on Wednesday and Thursday is the first major
   summit since the fractious Group of Seven meeting in Canada last month.
   At the conclusion of that meeting, Trump retracted his endorsement of
   the group's final joint statement and blasted Canadian Prime Minister
   Justin Trudeau as "very dishonest and weak."
   After meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels, Trump travels to Britain
   where he will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth
   II. Trump meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16
   the final stop of his European trip.

References

   1. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/07/10/remarks-by-president-donald-tusk-on-eu-nato-cooperation/