Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Hans Binnendijk, Newsweek (USA)
President Donald Trump’s decision to attend a NATO meeting in Brussels in late May provides an opportunity for the alliance to reconstitute the trans-Atlantic security bargain in light of Trump’s earlier pronouncements that the alliance is obsolete. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis’s recent warning to Europe that it must start increasing defense spending by the end of this year adds urgency to finding this new bargain. Trump will be looking for a symbolic victory at this summit rather than a confrontation with 27 other national leaders. So Europe needs to create a positive outcome for Trump in advance.