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Berlin: Germany unleashed a volley of criticism Monday against US president Donald Trump, slamming his "short-sighted" policies that have "weakened the West" and hurt European interests.

The sharp words from Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel came after Trump concluded his first official tour abroad which took him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Brussels and then Italy for a G7 summit.

They followed Chancellor Angela Merkel's warning on Sunday that the United States and Britain may no longer be completely reliable partners.

Germany's exasperation was laid bare after the G7 summit which wrapped up on Saturday with the US refusing so far to sign up to upholding the 2015 Paris climate accord.

Days earlier, in Saudi Arabia, Trump had presided over the single largest US arms deal in American history, worth $110 billion over the next decade and including ships, tanks and anti-missile systems.

File image of Donald Trump. AP

Gabriel said Monday that "anyone who accelerates climate change by weakening environmental protection, who sells more weapons in conflict zones and who does not want to politically resolve religious conflicts is putting peace in Europe at risk".

"The short-sighted policies of the American government stand against the interests of the European Union," he said, judging that "the West has become smaller, at least it has become weaker".

"We Europeans must fight for more climate protection, fewer weapons and against religious (fanaticism), otherwise the Middle East and Africa will be further destabilised," Gabriel said.

'Take fate into our hands'

Germany's harsh words for Washington, traditionally a close ally, were highly unusual and came as relations have grown increasingly frosty.

When Trump was inaugurated in January, Merkel had told the billionaire and former reality TV show star that cooperation would be on the basis of shared democratic values.

The relationship between Merkel and Trump contrasts with the warm ties between her and former US president Barack Obama who last week travelled to Berlin to attend a key Protestant conference.

Obama's participation in a forum with Merkel last Thursday came hours before her meeting with Trump in Brussels at the NATO summit.

At the alliance's meeting on Thursday, Trump lambasted 23 of the alliance's 28 members including Germany for "still not paying what they should be paying" towards the funding of the bloc.

After the NATO and G7 summits, Merkel said at an election rally in southern Germany that "the times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I've experienced that in the last few days."

"We, the Europeans, will have to take our fate into our own hands. Our friendship with the US, the UK, our neighbourly relationship with Russia and also with other countries count, of course. But we must know, we have to fight for our own future," she said.

In response to Merkel's comments, Britain said it would be a "strong partner" to Germany.

"As we begin the negotiations about leaving the EU, we will be able to reassure Germany and other European countries that we are going to be a strong partner to them in defence and security and, we hope, in trade," Britain's interior minister Amber Rudd told BBC radio.

"We can reassure Mrs Merkel that we want to have a deep and special partnership so that we can continue to maintain European-wide security to keep us all safe from the terrorists abroad and those that are trying to be nurtured in our country," she said.

Separately, France's defence minister Sylvie Goulard said that Trump's broadside at NATO allies could boost efforts toward a common European defence policy.

"At a time when we want to take steps forward for Europe and its defence, it is a spur," said Goulard.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker "supports building bridges," spokesman Margaritis Schinas said, while the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Twitter he "agreed" with Merkel that "Europe's destiny is in our own hands".

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Donald Trump has 'weakened' the West, hurt European Union interests: German FM Sigmar Gabriel - Firstpost

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UK PM May says we are prepared to leave the European union without a deal - ForexLive

Building on the actions already undertaken in previous years, next year's EU budget will continue dealing effectively with the migration challenge, both inside and outside the EU. Improved reporting will enhance the focus on concrete results which will be achieved thanks to EU funding.

Commissioner Gnther H. Oettinger, in charge of budget and human resources, said: With this budget we want to strike the right balance between keeping our past commitments regarding major EU programmes and addressing new challenges, while enhancing EU added value. We try to make sure that more young Europeans will be able to find jobs and that more key investments will be made on the ground. Demonstrating tangible results and making a difference in the daily lives of Europeans continues to drive all EU action.

The proposed budget operates within the limitations set by the European Parliament and Member States in the Multiannual Financial Framework yet under the assumption that the Council will formally adopt the already agreed mid-term revision of that Framework quickly following the elections in the United Kingdom on 8 June. Otherwise, some of the additional proposed expenditure like the remaining 700 million for the Youth Employment Initiative during 2018-2020 would be at risk and the Commission would probably need to use budget from the agriculture heading to pay for additional amounts devoted to security and migration.

The European Parliament and the European Union Member States will now jointly discuss this proposal.

Boosting jobs and investments

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Juncker Plan, is backed by an EU budget guarantee, complemented by an allocation of the European Investment Bank's own capital. It aims to support jobs and spur growth by making smarter use of new and existing financial resources to harness private investment. It is already expected to mobilise 194 billion in investments to date. In 2018, the Commission proposes to provision the EFSI guarantee fund with a further 2 billion.

The Structural and Investment funds remain the main investment instruments of the EU supporting SMEs and actions mainly in the areas of research and innovation, transport, environment and rural development. The EU budget will provide 55.4 billion for Structural and Investment funds for regions and Member States and almost 59.6 billion for farmers and rural development.

After a slow start in the first years, the 2014-2020 EU structural and investment programmes are expected to reach cruising speed in 2018, as per the commitments agreed by the Member States and the European Parliament. This explains the increase by 8.1% of overall payments, in comparison to the 2017 budget.

The promotion of sustainable development will also guide the action of the EU budget outside the Union, which is being significantly reinforced as regards neighbouring countries. The new European Fund for Sustainable Development is thus expected to leverage additional financing, in particular from the private sector.

Offering better opportunities to young people

The Erasmus+ programme aims to implement the agreed policy objectives of the EU in the fields of education, training, youth and sport by improving the skills and competencies of students, fostering quality improvements in education, training and youth institutions/organisations and promoting policy development. The 2018 draft budget sets aside 2.3 billion for this purpose - a 9.5% increase compared to the 2017 budget.

By the end of 2016 around1.6million young people had benefitted from actions supported by the Youth Employment Initiative. This initiative contributed to the decrease of youth unemployment rates in most Member States. However, as the unemployment rates still remain above pre financial crisis levels, continued efforts and support at EU level are called for. To this end, an additional 1.2 billion should be provided to the Initiative over 2017-2020, of which 233 million is included in the draft budget 2018 and 500 million in an amending budget for 2017 which is also proposed today.

Another opportunity for young people is the European Solidarity Corps, which provides volunteering placements, traineeship and job offers for 2-12 months, fostering solidarity in communities across Europe. Today, the Commission proposed an own budget and legal base for the European Solidarity Corps to enable 100,000 Europeans to take part by 2020. Actions related to the European Solidarity Corps for 2018-2020 will come to a total of 342million, of which 89 million in 2018.

Responding effectively to geopolitical challenges

As migration and security continue to be top priorities, the Commission is planning to continue financing a wide range of related actions within the EU such as providing humanitarian assistance, reinforcing external border management, supporting the most affected Member States, and more. The 4.1 billion planned in the draft budget for 2018 in the areas of migration and security brings the total of overall EU funding for migration and security to an unprecedented 22 billion in the 2015-2018 period. The 2018 draft budget reflects the fact that the bulk of this was frontloaded.

Additional funds will also be available to tackle the root causes of migration externally, notably by providing assistance for non-EU countries dealing with large migration flows such as Lebanon and Jordan. The draft budget also includes the pledges for this region made at the Brussels conference on supporting the future of Syria in April 2017, which total 560 million.

In the area of security, EU funding will focus on preventive security measures, notably in the field of serious and organised crime, including reinforcing coordination and cooperation between national law enforcement authorities, increasing the security of the EU's external borders and supporting Member States to fight against terrorism and cybercrime.

Moreover, the Commission launched in 2017 a so-called preparatory action for EU funded defence research. Overall 90 million are budgeted for the 2017-2019 period to fund collaborative research in innovative defence technologies and products.

Background

The draft EU budget includes two amounts for each programme to be financed commitments and payments. 'Commitments' refer to the funding that can be agreed in contracts in a given year; 'payments' to the money actually paid out. In the draft 2018 budget, commitments represent 161 billion (up 1.4% from 2017) and payments 145 billion (up 8.1% from 2017, due to the 2014-2020 EU structural and investment programmes reaching cruising speed in 2018, after a slow start in the first years).

For More Information

- Draft EU Budget 2018 Questions and Answers

- Draft EU budget 2018 documents

- EU Budget Focused on Results

- EU Results (online collection of EU funded projects)

- Press release on the European Solidarity Corps

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2018 EU budget: Commission proposes budget with focus on jobs, investments, migration and security - EU News

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers patrol the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province on May 23 / Getty Images

BY: Natalie Johnson May 30, 2017 5:00 am

A bipartisan bill aiming to cut funding for the war in Afghanistan would severely destabilize the nation's security environment, particularly amid a Taliban resurgence, according to regional experts.

Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a withdrawal of U.S. funds to Kabul would signal the inevitable collapse of the Afghan government to extremist groups and regional powers such as Russia and Iran.

"This [legislation] would be essentially telling the entire region, as well as terrorists and insurgents, that the Afghan government has no practical chance at surviving," Cordesman told the Washington Free Beacon. "What would happen is the entire modern sector of the economy, which is heavily dependent on outside aid, would collapse. You're not talking about the country breaking up, you're talking about the country imploding."

The measure, introduced in March by Reps. Walter Jones (R., N.C.) and John Garamendi (D., Calif.), would prohibit the United States from providing money to efforts in Afghanistan beginning in October 2019. The American embassy and intelligence gathering activities would be the only two entities exempted from the ban.

The bill has nine cosponsorsthree Republicans and six Democratsand is largely intended to force a floor debate on the U.S. end goals and whether Washington should continue engagement in Afghanistan.

Jones told the Military Times on Tuesday that House members would prefer President Donald Trump to "have blood on his hands" instead of Congress.

"That's just my feeling. I can't prove it," Jones said. "But I know one thing: We're not debating any foreign policy involving our men and women in uniform. And it's both parties crying for a debate."

Afghanistan has received more than $100 billion in international aid over the past decade, the majority of it from the United States, but long-term reconstruction efforts have been largely unsuccessful. The government in Kabul meanwhile has failed to cultivate a sustainable development strategy that would wean the country off its reliance on foreign cash.

Cordesman said the current trajectory is untenable, but warned that if the United States were to immediately withdraw aid, NATO allies would likely follow and Afghans would turn to their one meaningful source of exports: narcotics.

Michael Rubin, a resident scholar on the Middle East at the American Enterprise Institute, said it is understandable for lawmakers to want to halt U.S. funding to the country given frequent examples of misspent aid, but he said Congress needs to demand a strategy from the Pentagon rather than handicap U.S. forces.

"The question that needs to be asked is can we afford for Afghanistan to become a safe haven? How much money is it worth to prevent that from happening?" Rubin said in an interview. "If the politicians vote to freeze American funding, they need to determine whether they believe there could never again be an attack on the United States from terrorists based in Afghanistan."

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Bipartisan Bill to Bar US Funds to Afghanistan Would Lead to Government Collapse - Washington Free Beacon

Australia will increase by 30 its troop numbers in Afghanistan, taking to 300 the number of defence personnel in training and advisory roles.

Defence Minister Marise Payne announced the "modest increase" during a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Monday.

"Given the centrality of Afghanistan in the global fight against terrorism, an enhanced Australian contribution to the resolute support mission is both timely and appropriate," she said.

Some members of the Australian contingent are mentoring at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy in Kabul.

NATO, in a request to Canberra, did not nominate a specific number, Senator Payne said.

Australian Defence force chief Mark Binskin said all coalition countries were asked to re-examine their contributions.

The Trump administration is still weighing up whether to increase US troop numbers in Afghanistan.

Earlier in the year, US General John Nicholson described the security situation in Afghanistan as a "strategic stalemate" and called for about 5200 more foreign troops for training and mentoring of local security forces.

"While there have been some expected setbacks in the security situation since 2015, the Afghan security institutions continue to demonstrate resilience in the face of a challenging security environment," Senator Payne said.

Australia is expected to maintain its military support in Afghanistan until at least June 2018.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it was important Afghanistan did not become a safe haven for terrorists intent on destroying western democracies.

"We've made a commitment in blood and the lives of people and we've got to see this commitment through," he told ABC Radio.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a former senior intelligence analyst turned whistleblower, said the war in Afghanistan was lost long ago.

"Australia really should get out of the place and let it find its natural political level," he said.

"Sending more troops there just throws more fuel on the fire."

Australia first sent troops to Afghanistan in November 2001, following the September 11 attacks in the US.

The combat mission wrapped up in 2014 with an Australian death toll of 42.

AAP 2017

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Australia commits 30 more troops to Afghanistan - 9news.com.au