The Political Report: NATO insiders are annoyed by Rutte's 'flattery' of Trump
Tensions between the NATO Secretary General and European capitals surfaced when Rutte defended "American hegemony" during a speech in the European Parliament:
"If anyone here thinks the EU or the entire Europe can defend itself without the US, then continue to dream. You can't."
"That moment was shameful," said Natalie Loiseau, former French minister for European affairs, "We don't need a Trump fanatic. NATO needs to restore the balance of efforts between the US and Europe." Spanish MP Joaquín Sánchez Amor was more outspoken:
"Are you the US ambassador to NATO, or the secretary general representing the entire alliance and its members?"
NATO officials and diplomats describe Rutte as a skilled crisis manager, who recently won a victory on the Greenland issue, but at the cost of deepening distrust in NATO's long-term future among Europeans.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855561244163072/
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