At one point in the BBC political comedy The Thick of It, press officer Terri Coverly advises a government minister to stop being so 'hoofy' - a reference to his infuriating habit of coming up with policy ideas 'on the hoof', without consultation or reflection. If anyone is giving Donald Trump the same advice, he's clearly not listening: less than three weeks after his inauguration, illegal immigrants are being deported, the Gaza Strip has been earmarked for an American takeover and Nato allies have been told to double their defence spending.

Some of Trump's hoofiest ideas were discussed at an EU leaders' retreat in Brussels this week, at which Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended a '360-degree vision' of European security. This informal gathering was the first of its kind, proposed by European Council president Antonio Costa to enable the bloc's premiers to discuss policy without having to agree on specific resolutions. It was held at the Belgian capital's sixteenth century Palais d'Egmont and also attended by British prime minister Keir Starmer and Nato boss Mark Rutte.

Trump's proposal that the defence spending target for Nato members be increased from 2% to 5% of their GDPs will have been top of the agenda in Brussels. Though a typically hoofy suggestion, one can see why he made it: it sends a strong message to Vladimir Putin that the alliance is not to be messed

with, as well as addressing the vast spending disparity between the US and EU.

Spain has never hit the 2% target agreed upon by Nato allies in 2014. Last year, its contribution totalled 1.28% of GDP - although Sánchez pointed out, in response to Trump's criticism of this figure, that it has doubled its defence spending since 2018. But reaching 5% would be virtually impossible for Spain, as well as for most other European nations. The only country that has come close to the proposed goal is Poland, which last year spent 4.12% of its GDP on defence.

The other classic Trumpian policy up for discussion at the Palais d'Egmont was tariffs. Trump declared last week that the EU has treated the US 'terribly' and that he is 'absolutely' going to impose tariffs on European goods, as he did in his first term. EU leaders are therefore preparing for potentially fraught negotiations with the US, insofar as that's possible with a president who only makes policy on the hoof.

In stark contrast to Trump, the EU is about as un-hoofy as it gets. The organisation represented by the delegates in Brussels this week is a meticulous, pedantic planner, in love with bureaucracy. No wonder Europe finds it so stressful to deal with the cowboy across the ocean.