The EU seeks to avoid duplication, but there is already a cross-European defence forum that could address efficiency issues, such as armed forces’ inter-operability, it’s called NATO.
Conservatives should be pressuring Keir Starmer to stand unequivocally with our European allies against economic coercion. Not out of sentimentality, but out of self-interest.
“We have to step up and fast,” he says, as he urges the Government to increase spending on defence.
Extracting critical minerals from Greenland, sustainably, would be beneficial for all NATO members, and help reduce an over-reliance on supplies from more geo-politically complex parts of the world.
Last February we committed to 3 per cent this Parliament, not Labour’s vague ‘ambition’ of 3 per cent by the next one. Our Sovereign Defence Fund would see £6bn of other Government R&D redirected to procuring drones and counter-drone tech for the military.
“We need to make sure we keep the US on side”, adds the Conservative leader.
Neither end of our country’s TikTok-zoomer spectrum is prepared to stand up and serve their nation like our forefathers, and not only is that a betrayal of shared values and history, but it is also extremely depressing.
The President’s vision seems to be of an empire without the tedious long-term responsibilities that attend having one, including responsibilities to allies and collaborators.
Traditional allies of the United States have, however, plenty of instruments to ensure it can be defused, while building up their independent military industrial base and armed forces.
Starmer says power is frustrating. His government seems determined to prove the point. From defence spending to schools guidance, Labour’s instinct is not action but sluggish postponement.
To have the same influence in global affairs, we are going to have to think much more carefully about how we apply power, and we will need to acquire more hard power.
Whatever the final outcome, there is only one way to prevent further Russian aggression: Europe must re-arm, diverting spending from our bloated welfare states into industry, weapons and manpower.
His statement should encourage Britain to believe in itself – and the Government to make faster and better provision for a stronger military to take care of our own defence.
NATO’s usual way of thinking has been less about creating an effective deterrence and more about collective finger wagging. Its chronic spinelessness has been the West’s slowest-burning tragedy.
For the sake of Britain’s security and credibility, it should be scrapped entirely.