Highlights: In Brussels, Trump Scolds Allies on Cost-Sharing, and Stays Vague on Article 5 -
By THE NEW YORK TIMESMAY 25, 2017
In a statement at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, President Trump said
that members of the alliance must "finally contribute" their fair share to defense spending and that it was “not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States.”
• On the fourth leg of a grueling overseas trip, President Trump lectured NATO allies in Brussels on not spending enough for collective defense,
and declined to plainly endorse Article 5 of the alliance’s founding treaty, which states that an attack on any member is an attack on all.
Mr. Tusk said afterward that there were differences of opinion over Russia, but
that when it came to Ukraine, “it seems that we were on the same line.”
• Analysts said expectations were low that Mr. Trump and European leaders would agree on issues like climate change, trade and terrorism.
Mr. Juncker said agreement was reached during the meeting to hold talks on trade
matters during “the next few weeks, in order to come closer together.”
Mr. Juncker gave no indication whether the coming talks could unfreeze the efforts begun under President Obama to reach a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
that would drastically lower trade and regulatory barriers between the European Union and the United States.
