The tension at the NATO summit was not absent, the protests in the United Kingdom gave indications of what Trump's visit would be like. The next target is Putin

At the NATO summit held in Brussels on July 11 and 12, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, once again pressured the allies to fulfill what they promised in 2014, that is, to give 2% of their GDP to military spending, as noted in the Declaration of Wales. Apart from military spending, on the agenda of the summit was the end of the war in Afghanistan, according to the newspaper El Mundo. After the summit, the U.S. president went to the United Kingdom, where he stayed until Sunday, July 15, before leaving to Helsinki, Finland, to his meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Leer en español: ¿Por qué Donald Trump causa revuelo durante su visita a Europa?

The tense NATO summit

Trump publicly requested the leaders of the 29 nations of the Alliance to comply with the agreement in Wales in 2014, where it was approved to spend 2% of GDP on defense to counteract the military modernization that Russia has had in the last five years, as reported by Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik News. At that 2014 summit, it was said that the increase in military spending was also due to the need to protect allies from terrorist threats.

Presidents have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get Germany and other rich NATO Nations to pay more towards their protection from Russia. They pay only a fraction of their cost. The US pays tens of Billions of Dollars too much to subsidize Europe, and the Big on Trade!

– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 12, 2018

For French President Emmanuel Macron, and as mentioned by Defense Minister Florence Parly at a press conference, "the alliance comes out much stronger, despite the discussion on spending, France continues with its plan to meet the target in 2015." For his part, the Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez said that he supports the decision of the U.S. president and will comply with the provisions in 2014. Spain contributes 0.93% of its GDP to defense, according to official data from the Spanish Ministry of Defense.

Germany was the center of criticism for President Donald Trump, considering that its economy is the largest, according to the GDP of the European Union; its defense spending is only 1.24%, according to the German Ministry of Defense. At a press conference, Merkel said: "We know we have to do more, and we have been doing it for a while now."

The U.S. president has altered the foreign agenda of the European Union since his departure from the nuclear agreement with Iran and since the imposition of tariffs on steel imports from the European Union, altering free market relations. Climate change has also been hit by the moves of Donald Trump, as well as Middle East priorities.

Read also: Why was the international community disapproved the meeting between Trump and Putin?

The visit to the United Kingdom under protests

After having been present at the NATO summit, Donald Trump went to the United Kingdom, where he met with Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II. The visit was framed by protests, which according to the organizers had more than 70,000 people, explains La Vanguardia.

People gathered in #London to protest against @ realDonaldTrump 's four-day visit in the UK. Earlier in the day to six meter tall balloon depicting Trump as a diaper-clad baby flew over the British capital. #LondonProtest : https://t.co/f4iozCqg7f pic.twitter.com/REAdp0AgGM

– Juan Carlos Bejarano (@ Jerubbaal2) July 13, 2018

Before arriving in the United Kingdom, the U.S. president had expressed the position of Prime Minister May regarding Brexit. In an interview for The Sun, Trump even praised May's main opponent, Boris Johnson. "He's got what it takes to be a great prime minister," he said. This interview was given moments before his meeting with May.

But the real problem was during his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, whom he left waiting for a lapse of 10 minutes at Windsor Castle. For Vanity Fair magazine, the real protocol was broken since the arrival of the Trumps to the castle. After the wait, the Trumps forgot to bow to the queen and, on the contrary, extended their hands; act that the queen reciprocated. Subsequently, the queen and the president had to review the troops, and for a moment Donald Trump was ahead of the march and after a short time, he returned to see the queen, who signaled him to continue, not before stand at his side.

Finally, the president went to Scotland to his luxurious hotel complex Turnberry, where he will be until Sunday. From there he will leave to Helsinki to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

LatinAmerican Post | Carlos Eduardo Gómez Avella

Translated from "¿Por qué Donald Trump causa revuelo durante su visita a Europa? "