Dispatch from NATO, U.S. strikes Iran and Le Pen is back

Hello, this is Leonie Kidd coming to you from London.

Welcome to the Daily Open newsletter, a special edition featuring a dispatch from CNBC Presenter Steve Sedgwick in Ankara, Turkey, on the contentious NATO Summit.

ANKARA, TURKEY — So how did NATO’s European leaders fare on Day One of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, otherwise known as Operation “Keep Donald Trump on side”?

Well, not bad in terms of trying to showcase how much money Europe is spending on its own defense, with a raft of billion-dollar deals announced with some of the world’s largest military contractors.

In fact, if this conference was just about proving to the U.S. that there is a plan and it is being enacted — that the 5%-of-GDP spending commitment isn’t a distant mirage and that real efforts to get there are underway — then Tuesday might have been a slam dunk of a day for Europe.

So-called “Trump Whisperer in Chief” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was once again at the forefront of proceedings, lauding the progress made in “shifting the burden” for Europe’s defense away from the other side of the Atlantic.

And yet, as that great European military tactician Helmuth Von Moltke said over a hundred years ago: “No plan survives first contact with the enemy” (I prefer this version to Mike Tyson’s alternative: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”).

Not that President Donald Trump is the enemy here, but he is certainly a major challenge for European leaders trying to hold NATO together.

The problem is, whilst Rutte et al are trying to head off Trump on spending, the U.S. president brought up another old bone of contention on arrival and during his presser with host President Recep Erdogan of Turkey, in that he still felt the U.S. should control Greenland.

Greenland again! The European leaders must have thought that one had been put to bed in Davos in January, but now it’s back. Who saw that one coming? Mark? Ursula? Friedrich? Emmanuel?… No, I thought not.

Game of whack-a-mole, anyone?

— Steve Sedgwick

The NATO newsflow just keeps on coming, with Trump making one of the boldest threats to his European allies to date: “We could remove all our soldiers out of Europe.” His comments at the NATO Summit came after he renewed his call for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, saying it “should be controlled by the United States, not by Denmark.”

Ukraine has also topped the NATO agenda, amid a fresh wave of attacks between Kyiv and Moscow. Speaking to CNBC, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Ukraine was already winning by preserving its sovereignty for over four years, while Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said: “Time is not on Russia’s side right now.”

Oil prices are driving higher in early trade after the U.S. launched a raft of “powerful strikes” against Iran. The U.S. military said it had taken action against Tehran after a number of commercial ships were struck by Iranian missiles in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. Treasury Department has also revoked its authorization of Iranian oil sales following the attacks.

“Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” a U.S. official told CNBC, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions. “Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences.”

Futures in the U.S. and Europe are little changed in early trade as investors assess the developments. It’s a broadly negative session for stocks across Asia-Pacific.

In the U.K., right-wing politician Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has quit as a member of parliament, triggering a special election which he will frame as a “people versus the establishment” contest. But his gamble may not pay off, with rival parties including Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats saying they could not field candidates to contest him, meaning a victory could be seen as meaningless.

— Leonie Kidd

Chrysler parent Stellantis on Tuesday said it has opened ordering for its small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle in the U.S., starting at $13,995.

While the Topolino resembles a small car such as the Fiat 500, the EV is actually a quadricycle that functions more like a golf cart.

Stellantis said the Topolino is capable of going 19 mph, with an electric range of up to 46 miles. A low-speed vehicle conversion kit can boost the top speed to 25 mph to make it street legal on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less, according to the trans-Atlantic automaker.

– Michael Wayland