Starmer Says Europe Can No Longer Rely on American Money
The former prime minister told an audience in Dublin on Friday that the change in Europe’s defence relationship with the United States is permanent, not “an aberration of the Trump presidency”, and that Washington will no longer “bankroll” European security. He called for a common security framework with Britain at its centre.
The framing is the interesting part, because he is arguing that this is structural rather than personal: “things will not go back to the way they were”. His central claim is that Europe needs a common security framework as much as it needed a common market, and his harshest line is self-critical about the continent as a whole — “Europe has twice been caught asleep, failing to anticipate and prepare for predictable events. First when Russia’s attack on Ukraine exposed long-standing European weaknesses on defence and security; and second when President Trump made clear, once and for all, that the US will no longer bankroll our European security.” He was careful not to write off the alliance, calling the military, security and intelligence relationship with Washington “far too strong for that”, while insisting Europe must take on “far more responsibility”. Set this beside the former chancellor saying this morning that Britain’s future lies inside the European Union, and two former Labour leaders are now making the European argument from outside government in the same week.