NATO Chief Says Europe Must Stop “Dreaming” of Defense Without the U.S.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe must stop “dreaming” about defending itself without U.S. support.

According to the Financial Times, Rutte made the remarks while addressing the European Parliament, dismissing calls from some EU countries to prepare for a future without Washington’s involvement.

He warned that building a fully independent European defense would be extremely costly and would benefit only NATO’s adversaries, including Russia.
“If anyone believes that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the United States, keep dreaming,” Rutte said. “It won’t work.”

He noted that Europe’s defense spending would have to increase significantly and that it would also need to invest in its own nuclear weapons.

“If you truly want to act independently, forget about ever achieving that with 5 percent [of defense spending]. It would have to be 10%,” Rutte said. “You would need to build your own nuclear capability. That costs billions and billions of euros.”

The NATO Secretary General also said that Europe needs the United States, just as the United States needs NATO.

In recent years, the idea of independence from the U.S. “security umbrella,” which has protected Europe since World War II, has increasingly entered the EU mainstream.

The unpredictable approach of Donald Trump toward NATO allies, combined with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has intensified the debate over how Europe can strengthen its own defense.

Last year, NATO allies agreed to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, responding to Donald Trump’s demand that Europe take on a larger share of the costs of its own defense.

However, as the publication notes, experts believe that entirely replacing the U.S. role in Europe would be far more expensive.

This is especially true in areas such as advanced weaponry and critical capabilities, which European forces have relied on for decades.