EU leaders at Malta summit raise 'alarm call' over Trump's US
Theresa May was warned over her closeness to Donald Trump as European leaders gathered for a summit meeting in Malta.
Thursday 9 February 2017 09:08, UK
EU leaders have used a summit meeting to raise an "alarm call" over Donald Trump and warn the Prime Minister over her relationship with the US President.
Speaking as they arrived for the gathering in Malta, they raised significant concerns over the President's controversial policies and called for "EU solidarity" in response to his criticism of Europe.
French president Francois Hollande warned European countries which lean towards Mr Trump "that there is no future with Trump if it is not a common position".
Theresa May was attempting to use the summit to persuade her European counterparts to increase defence spending to meet NATO limits, following her meeting with the President last month.
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Mr Trump had been critical of the alliance, because a number of nations fail to meet the 2% of GDP defence spending limits. However, during Mrs May's Washington visit, she spoke of his "100% commitment" to NATO.
And after the Malta talks she reaffirmed that point, saying: "I think it's important that we got the 100% commitment to NATO because NATO has been so crucial in keeping the security, protecting the security, not just of the UK but also of Europe and will do so in the future.
"But as we look to our negotiations, what I want to build with the EU is a strong partnership, we want a strong continuing EU and a strong partnership because we're not leaving Europe, we're leaving the EU."
The Prime Minister was hoping to act as a bridge between the US and the EU, amid increasingly hostile relations.
However, arriving at the summit, Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite said: "I think there is no necessity of bridges…
"Today we are communicating with the United States mainly on Twitter."
It follows comments made to Sky News ahead of the summit by the Maltese prime minister, Joseph Muscat, who said that Mrs May would have to choose between Europe and the US.
Mrs May also had talks with European leaders including Angela Merkel, Spain's Mariano Rajoy and Austria's Christian Kern at the EU Presidency Summit in Malta in an attempt to build Brexit relationships.
Mr Rajoy and Mrs May discussed making an early deal on the rights of EU citizens in the UK and Britons in Europe.
Mrs May has
And the Spanish leader backed her hopes for an early deal on the issue.
A No 10 source said: "They discussed the issue of reciprocal rights, and agreed it would be good to get agreement on this issue early on in the negotiations."
But Mr Trump dominated the comments of the other leaders.
Mr Kern said "Today we have pretty mixed feelings, to be honest, because the tangible aspects of Mr Trump's policies are raising some concerns.
"It's not a threat, it could be a catalyst for a strong, more united Europe. It is an alarm call to see if we are on the right track."
Mr Hollande said: "Those who want to forge bilateral ties with the US are of course well understood by the public.
"But they must understand that there is no future with Trump if it is not a common position. What matters is solidarity at the EU level. We must not imagine some sort of external protection."
Mrs Merkel said: "Europe has its destiny in its own hands. I believe that the more strongly we make clear that we will define our own role in the world, the better we will be able to cultivate our transatlantic relationship."
Mrs May will only attend part of the summit but will not be present when the rest of the leaders discuss Brexit.