Europe placates Trump with Nato vows

In their rush to retain Donald Trump's support for Nato, the alliance’s European members have promised to more than double the amount of wealth they set aside for military spending. The snag is that most can ill-afford to spend 5% of output on defence — so while there will be some unpalatable sacrifices in national budgets, there will also be some creative accounting to divert existing spending to the effort, reported Reuters.

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“They will not get there,” Guntram Wolff, senior fellow of the Bruegel think-tank, said of the 5% goal.

“If you are a highly indebted country you can't issue more debt, it means very difficult budgetary choices,” he said of the hefty tax hikes or spending cuts that it would require.

As a piece of political theatre, the Hague summit at least won over its intended audience: Trump himself. Amid concerns about his commitment to Nato’s mutual defence clause, he said the United States stood with its European allies “all the way”.

While few dispute that Europe needs to do more to ensure its own security as tensions with Russia rise, the fixation on the 5% target cut short a separate debate about how it could be using its existing military budgets more efficiently, for example with national governments agreeing on joint procurement.