NATO’s top leader, Secretary General Mark Rutte, told European officials that Europe cannot defend itself without the help of the United States. He gave this statement during a meeting of the European Parliament, responding to rising discussions that Europe might try to go it alone without U.S. support.
Rutte said that if anyone thinks Europe can protect itself without the United States, they should “keep on dreaming.” He explained that Europe would need to spend huge amount of money and build its own advance weapons and nuclear capability to even come close, He said it would cost “billions and billions” of euros.
He pointed out that the United States still plays a key role in keeping Europe safe, including its nuclear “umbrella” defense, which means the U.S. helps protect member nations with its powerful nuclear weapons and military forces. Rutte said the U.S. expects European countries to spend more on their own defense, but he still sees the U.S. as a key partner.
This debate comes after recent conflicts between Europe and the United States. Some leaders had suggested that Europe should spend less time depending on the U.S. and more time in building its own strong defense systems. But Rutte warned that moving away from cooperation with the U.S. could make Europe less safer and more expensive to defend
He also responded to ideas about creating a new European defense force separate from NATO. Rutte said this could make defense system more difficult and might help Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, not Europe. He advised that work on defense system should continue inside the NATO, not outside it.
These statements came at a time when people are already worried about the future of NATO. In recent months, there have been public arguments over U.S. foreign policy, including disagreements about Greenland and NATO military deployments. Some European leaders want more independence, but Rutte said strong connections with the U.S. are still important to keep Europe safe.
Rutte reminded other members that the United States and Europe share much of the burden of defending the Atlantic region, and he encouraged the increased defense spending by many European countries. While Europe has boosted its defense budgets in recent years, Rutte thinks that cooperation with the U.S. is still the best way to keep peace and stability in the region.
European countries have been debating on how much they should invest in their own military forces. Some say that Europe needs to depend less on the United States and take more responsibility for its defense. But many experts agree with Rutte that building a completely independent European military would take many years and cost huge amounts of money.
Rutte also showed that the U.S. agreement to NATO’s key defense rule, which says that an attack on one partner country is an attack on all, is still strong. He said the United States still has a major presence in Europe and continues to play a central role in training, planning, and military actions with its NATO partners.
Some officials outside NATO have also commented on Europe’s defense. For example, Ukrainian leaders have said that NATO needs the U.S. to stay strong against threats like Russia, and that without American support, Europe would face greater risks.
Rutte’s statements show that how important the relationship between Europe and the United States is for defense planning in the coming years. He said that even though Europe must work to strengthen its own armies and military tools, it still needs to do this together with the United States, not alone.