Why Europe needs a common defence fund – outside the EU | Simon Nixon

Donald Trump ’s disdain for Europe had been telegraphed well in advance.

Few imagined a world in which a US president would publicly humiliate the head of state of a European ally in the Oval Office .

European leaders plead with Trump that a peace without robust security guarantees for Ukraine is no peace at all.

Pooled orders for equipment that is likely to be needed in the coming years would give European governments far greater bang for their rearmament buck.

Better still, the prospect of a single European deep-pocketed bidder would give the European defence industry incentive to invest in technologies that are now only available in the US market.