Europe and US need ‘separate bedrooms’ but not divorce, says David Miliband

Former foreign secretary David Miliband has said Europe should have “separate bedrooms” from the US, but not seek a “divorce” from its traditional alliance, despite the Trump administration’s impact on the relationship. Speaking at the Hay literary festival on Sunday, the former Labour minister, who has served as the president of the International Rescue Committee since 2013, said: “You can see the argument that strategic autonomy for Europe means divorce from the United States. I really counsel the dangers of that.” “Separate bedrooms, maybe. Divorce, no,” he continued. “Because there is huge potential for us to end up in a very, very difficult position if we go the divorce option.” Asked what that means in practice, Miliband joked that Europe also needed “separate bank accounts”, and said it needed to develop “agency” when it came to the economy and the military. That’s “difficult when it comes to fighters that you’re buying, aircraft that you’re buying – you’re buying European or you’re buying American”, and also in the AI space, “where what it means to be digitally sovereign is very, very challenging”. The climate issue “is a good example of where we can’t afford to be held back by the fact that America is going into reverse. There’s a massive economic interest as well as an environmental interest in Europe being at the absolute forefront,” Miliband said. …