NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sparked controversy in Brussels after telling lawmakers that European military self-sufficiency goals were an illusion, at least in the short and medium term.
In his speech to the European Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee on January 26, he warned that without Washington, Europe’s defenses would crumble: “If anyone here thinks… that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the United States, let him dream on.”
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Rutte said replacing US protection would require increasing European nations’ defense budgets to 10% of GDP and building a nuclear deterrent of their own. Otherwise, he said, Europe would lose “the maximum guarantee of our freedom, which is the American nuclear umbrella.”
His statements came days after a tense transatlantic impasse caused by US President Donald Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland (Denmark) and impose tariffs on European allies. The crisis eased after Rutte helped negotiate a basic framework on Arctic security, prompting Trump to withdraw trade punishments.
In his speech, Rutte called for NATO to assume a more relevant role in the defense of the Arctic to contain Russian and Chinese influence, and to promote talks between Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk to define how this translates into practice, although he reiterated that he had “no mandate” to negotiate on behalf of Denmark.
Rutte also pressed EU leaders to allow kyiv to buy American weapons with the upcoming 90 billion euro loan to Zelensky’s government, warning that European industry still cannot meet Ukraine’s urgent needs.
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The reaction was immediate. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot replied that “Europeans can and must take charge of their own security,” while MEP Nathalie Loiseau called Rutte’s intervention a “shameful moment.”
Although Rutte applauded Trump for pushing NATO partners towards defense spending of 5% of GDP by 2035, his frankness once again put the underlying dilemma on the table: whether Europe should continue betting on its alliance with the United States or if, once and for all, it should take its oft-announced “strategic autonomy” seriously.
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