The Transatlantic Relationship on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day
by Con Coughlin
June 6, 2019 at 5:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14346/nato-relationship US officials were shocked when Angela Merkel said she had no intention of meeting the target [of minimum defence spending of 2 percent of GDP] by 2024, but that Germany might be able to reach it by 2030. Given the closeness of Germany's relationship with Russia, particularly over the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which will supply Berlin's energy needs for decades to come, this attitude suggests Germany is more interested in its relations with Russia than sustaining the NATO alliance.
For a president who is already critical of the Europeans' failure to pay for defending their continent, this cavalier attitude can hardly be deemed constructive.
What the free world needs is a strong NATO to defend democracy against autocratic regimes like China and Russia, not one that is distracted by unnecessary internal squabbles, lest the transatlantic alliance one day cease to exist.
