Uncertain destination of Atlantic journey

Clara Marina O’Donnell, a defence expert at the Centre for European Reform, says European cuts are so serious that they make this week's summit look like "a surrealist play". She notes that Nato's new "strategic concept" will set out fresh ambitions for the alliance to deal with cyberwarfare, missile defence and terrorism, "yet in Europe, the very resources to deal with those threats are being cut back hugely". There are hopes that two new European Union directives setting out competition rules in defence procurement will reform the sector. These will put more pressure on ministries to run competitive tenders for the supply of equipment, she saysl. "However, some governments will try to continue protecting their domestic defence suppliers ... by citing national security - In the long run, the question facing European defence companies is how much they will want to develop products with the US rather than among themselves. "This is a big concern, European firms don’t want to just be suppliers of lower grade technologies to the US. The longer that goes on, the more these companies will struggle to maintain technological edge."