Donald Tusk says Nato is falling apart
Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has said Nato is suffering from an “ongoing disintegration” amid pressures on governments to increase defence spending.
In a post on X, the former EU council president indicated a war of words between President Trump and Chancellor Merz of Germany, which led to the US taking 5,000 soldiers out of the country, had marked the beginning of Nato’s breakdown.
Tusk said: “The greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance. We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend.”
The call from Trump to withdraw some troops from Germany, where it positions around 40,000 servicemen, came as Merz suggested the US had been “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership.
Trump hit back at Merz despite relations between the two world leaders being on positive terms in recent months.
Merz is the latest leader to suffer from a breakdown in relations with Trump, with Sir Keir Starmer being targeted repeatedly for refusing to join the US and Israel in strikes against Iran.
A Nato spokesman said: “This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security.”
Nato members’ spending constraints
European nations will be under pressure to fund an increase in defence spending. Germany loosened its borrowing rules last year to allow for a surge in expenditure while Poland is planning to spend nearly five per cent of GDP on defence this year.
Starmer has meanwhile still not published the UK’s Defence Investment Plan despite it being due last autumn.
Lord George Robertson, a former Nato chief and Labour defence secretary who co-authored a review of UK armed forces, hit out at the Prime Minister for a “corrosive complacency” in failing to fund defence.
Morning Wire analysis showed that the UK is drifting away from a Nato target to spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035.
The analysis also showed that the UK was falling far behind the likes of Russia and China in military spending while Nato members were more vulnerable to hostile countries when the US’ military expenditure was not accounted for.