Joe Biden 'backs EU's Ursula von der Leyen for next NATO chief'

He really DOES hate Britain! Joe Biden ‘backs EU’s Ursula von der Leyen for next NATO chief’… after blocking Ben Wallace for the military alliance’s top job

• Current NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has been handed another year in charge 

Joe Biden is pushing for EU chief Ursula von der Leyen to be the next head of NATO after apparently dashing Ben Wallace’s hopes of getting the job.

The US president is said to be backing the European commission president to take the helm at the military alliance next year.

The current secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has been handed another 12 months in charge – extending his reign into a tenth year – after the international community failed to agree on a successor.

But the delay is believed to be partly because Mr Biden wants Ms von der Leyen for the post, and her term at the EU ends next year.

Defence Secretary Mr Wallace made a strong pitch in the wake of his pivotal role in the Ukraine response. The UK is one of the few countries that meets the military spending targets.

But he recently acknowledged the appointment is ‘not going to happen’ despite Rishi Sunak lobbying the US President on a trip to Washington last month.

There were claims Mr Biden ‘didn’t want to support the UK’. 

US president Joe Biden (left) is said to be backing European commission president Ursula von der Leyen (right) to take the helm at the military alliance next year 

Ben Wallace made a strong pitch for NATO chief in the wake of his pivotal role in the Ukraine response

The president frequently boasts about his Irish heritage and has faced accusations of being ‘anti-British’. On a recent visit to the island of Ireland, he spent a few hours in Northern Ireland before touring the Republic for days and snubbed displaying a Union Jack on his ‘Beast’ limo. 

He also made a ‘joke’ about beating the ‘Black and Tans’ – an auxiliary police force deployed by Britain a century ago. 

A NATO source told the Telegraph that Mr Biden is attempting to convince Mrs von der Leyen, a former German defence minister, to succeed Mr Stoltenberg.

Another source said Mr Biden and Mrs von der Leyen have built ‘a strong bond’ in recent years, fostering close transatlantic ties over China, Ukraine and the climate.

Ms von der Leyen visited the White House in March, when the US and the EU announced the beginning of negotiations of a critical minerals agreement.

She was also heavily involved in the talks with Rishi Sunak to finalise the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.

French president Emmanuel Macron was said to be adamant that the next secretary general should come from an EU state rather than Britain. 

There was also pressure for the candidate to be a former leader, rather than a lower-ranking minister.  

Mr Sunak has praised Mr Stoltenberg’s leadership of NATO. He said the alliance has ‘evolved to meet new threats’ and been ‘steadfast in support of Ukraine’ under Mr Stoltenberg.

Mr Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister who has been Nato’s top civilian official since 2014, said he was ‘honoured’ by the decision and ‘in a more dangerous world, our alliance is more important than ever’.

His term was due to expire last year but it was extended after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

NATO’s leaders will meet in Lithuania next week, where a decision on a successor was due to be made.

Mr Wallace had pushed to become the first Briton to lead the alliance since 2003, but lacked the necessary support – particularly from the US, the largest military power in Nato.

At the regular Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Sunak said Mr Wallace had been an ‘outstanding candidate’ for the role.

Jens Stoltenberg said he was ‘honoured’ by the decision to extend his term and ‘in a more dangerous world, our alliance is more important than ever’

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