INTRO:
As US President Donald Trump prepares to head to Brussels for Wednesday's NATO summit, tensions between him and the EU are at an all time high.
European diplomats are increasingly worried at NATO, President Trump will continue to deteriorate relations with long time American allies.
Our Europe Correspondent Kevin Ozebek has more.
PACKAGE: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0706nato-ko-pkg.mp3
Scolding leaders on a lack of spending…
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Donald Trump, US President
"NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations."
…that's how President Donald Trump addressed fellow leaders at his first NATO summit last year.
And now he's coming back to Brussels with US-EU relations much more strained.
This month the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte rebuked President Trump…in the Oval Office… over threats of taxing European car imports.
Here's their exchange….
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President Trump and Prime Minister Rutte
"Trump: If we do work that out that will be positive, and we don't that will be positive also because… Rutte: No Trump: We are just thinking about those cars thay pour in here. We'll do something right… Rutte: We have to work on something…"
Besides tension over trade—President Trump is also upping the pressure for Europe to spend more on defense.
Just ahead of the NATO summit—his White House sent scathing letters to some allies including Germany and Belgium.
They said the US is fed up with them for not meeting defense spending pledges.
But could this all just be tough talk?
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says under the Trump administration, US military spending in Europe has gone UP forty percent.
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Jens Stoltenberg/NATO Sec General
"I'm absolutely confident and certain President Trump is committed to NATO."
But not everyone agrees.
Some say Mr. Trump's tone towards Europe is too strict and the transatlantic bond is at risk of buckling.
Shada Islam is with the Brussels based think tank, Friends of Europe….
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Shada Islam/Friends of Europe
"If the US does retreat from its global commitments, we in Europe have to rethink our own new arrangements with other countries. We can't just rely on the US. This is really code red."
Once President Trump leaves Brussels, he'll head to the UK and then Finland for a one-on-one with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
European diplomats fear the American leader will bash allies here at NATO, and then go off to praise Putin…
A man accused of meddling in elections on both sides of the Atlantic.
I'm Kevin Ozebek in Brussels.