Prospect Of Trump 2.0 Has Europe Scrambling

Some of America's staunchest allies in Europe are pushing their neighbours to spend more on defence

- Daniel Michaels

To prepare for a potential Trump presidency, European governments are contacting political and business figures in the US to understand who might join his administration.

The prospect of Donald Trump returning as president is prompting some of America’s staunchest allies in Europe to push their neighbors that are more reluctant to spend into further action on defense and security.

Results are slowly emerging, but the question dogging Europe is whether the continent can convince Trump it isn’t free-riding, as he has said it is. Campaigning in Las Vegas on Saturday, Trump criticized Europeans for insufficient military spending. "We're paying for NATO and we don't get so much out of it," he said, predicting European allies wouldn't support the U.S. in an emergency. "If we ever needed their help - let's say we were attacked - I don't believe they would be there."

Senior European leaders are starting to discuss how to prepare for and react to a potential change of U.S. administration, but are struggling to agree on the steps to take, say people involved in the discussions.

Defense ministers from the European Union's 27 members will discuss expanding their industrial base when they meet on Wednesday in Brussels. The issue will also be central to a mid-February meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's defense ministers and their close partners.

In a sign that European officials are starting to address their armaments shortages, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Jan. 23 announced a $1.2 billion multicountry contract for 200,000 155-millimeter artillery shells, a type being heavily used in Ukraine. The shells will be produced in France and Germany and purchased by Spain, Belgium and Lithuania.