The United States has privately urged European allies to assume responsibility for the bulk of NATO\u2019s conventional defense capabilities by 2027, a timeline that several European officials say is far too short to be realistic, according to multiple sources familiar with discussions in Washington this week.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe message was delivered during a meeting between Pentagon officials overseeing NATO policy and several European diplomatic delegations. Five individuals familiar with the conversation \u2014 including one US official \u2014 described the exchange as unusually blunt, underscoring growing American frustration over what Washington regards as insufficient European progress in strengthening defense capabilities since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n
If European allies fail to meet the 2027 benchmark, Pentagon officials warned, the United States may scale back or cease participation in some NATO defense coordination mechanisms. The officials did not detail how the Pentagon might measure Europe\u2019s progress or what specific benchmarks would determine whether the continent had taken on a majority of the alliance\u2019s burden.<\/p>\n
The proposal signals a dramatic potential shift in how Washington, a founding NATO member and its principal military contributor, envisions its future role in the transatlantic alliance. The US has long provided NATO with critical non-nuclear capabilities \u2014 from advanced intelligence and surveillance to air and missile defense assets \u2014 that Europe has not been able to match.<\/p>\n
According to one US official, some lawmakers on Capitol Hill have expressed concern over the Pentagon\u2019s messaging, noting that there are internal divisions within Washington about how quickly \u2014 or even whether \u2014 the US should reduce its role in Europe\u2019s security architecture.<\/p>\n
For European officials, however, the message landed with a sense of incredulity. Several said that taking over the majority of NATO\u2019s conventional defense responsibilities by 2027 would be impossible under current conditions, regardless of political intentions or budget increases. Beyond boosting spending, Europe would need to rapidly expand industrial production, overcome severe equipment backlogs, and acquire capabilities that are either unavailable for purchase or take years to manufacture.<\/p>\n
A number of highly sought-after US defense systems \u2014 including missile interceptors, long-range precision weapons, and advanced aircraft \u2014 already face delivery timelines stretching late into the decade. More critically, some US-provided capabilities, such as certain intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms, have no immediate equivalent in Europe and cannot simply be bought off the shelf.<\/p>\n
A NATO spokesperson, asked about the exchanges, acknowledged that European allies have taken on a larger role in defending the continent but declined to comment on the 2027 deadline. \u201cAllies have recognized the need to invest more in defense and shift the burden on conventional defense from the US to Europe,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson reiterated Washington\u2019s call for Europe to lead on its own defense, saying the US remains committed to working through NATO channels \u201cto strengthen the alliance and ensure its long-term viability\u201d as Europe assumes more responsibility.<\/p>\n
European governments have already pledged significant increases in defense spending, spurred both by the war in Ukraine and by sustained pressure from US President Donald Trump. The European Union has set 2030 as its target for having the capacity to defend the continent independently, though many officials and analysts see even that timeline as extremely ambitious given deficits in air defense, munitions stocks, drones, cyber capabilities, and industrial output.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s stance on NATO has often been contradictory. On the campaign trail in 2024, he repeatedly criticized European allies for underspending on defense and even suggested he would encourage Russia to target NATO states that failed to meet alliance benchmarks. Yet at the NATO summit in June, he warmly praised European leaders for agreeing to raise defense spending targets to 5 percent of GDP.<\/p>\n
More recently, Trump\u2019s shifting posture on Russia \u2014 oscillating between hard-line rhetoric and openness to negotiations over Ukraine \u2014 has unsettled European governments, many of whom say they have been sidelined in US-led diplomatic engagements with Moscow.<\/p>\n
At a meeting of NATO foreign ministers this week, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau reiterated Washington\u2019s stance, writing on X that it was \u201cobvious\u201d Europe should take primary responsibility for its own defense. \u201cSuccessive US administrations have been saying this \u2026 but our Administration means what it says,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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