Several European officials, however, are reportedly of the opinion that this 2027 deadline is practically unrealistic.
The US sent the harshest message yet to the Europeans: By 2027, Europe must have assumed almost all of its conventional defense obligations within NATO, otherwise the US is ready to withdraw from critical military coordination mechanisms. According to an exclusive report by Reuters, officials from the US Pentagon made it clear to European diplomats that the era of American "protection" over European security is coming to an end, calling on member states to finance, organize, and assume the burden of the continent's defense themselves. This message was reportedly conveyed by the US side during a meeting this week between US Department of Defense officials and European delegations. However, according to Reuters, shifting the burden from the US to the European NATO members would dramatically change the way the United States cooperates with its most important military partners.
The meeting of American and European officials
In the meeting in question, participating US Pentagon officials reportedly expressed dissatisfaction toward the Europeans, emphasizing that Washington is not happy with the steps Europe has taken to strengthen its defense capabilities since 2022 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. American officials are reported to have stated that if the Europeans do not meet this 2027 deadline, then the US may stop participating in certain NATO defense coordination mechanisms, according to Reuters. The conventional defense capabilities that should transition to European hands include almost everything except the nuclear umbrella. However, as Reuters reports, it is currently unclear whether this 2027 deadline constitutes an official position of the Trump administration or merely the position of certain US Pentagon officials, while it is known that there are significant disagreements in Washington regarding the military role the US should play in Europe in the future.
EU: The deadline is not realistic
Several European officials, however, are reportedly of the opinion that this 2027 deadline is practically unrealistic, as Europe will need not only money but also the political will to move in such a direction. When asked to comment, a NATO official told Reuters that European allies have already begun to take greater responsibility for their own security. He, however, left the 2027 deadline uncommented. During the last annual NATO leaders' summit, held in The Hague in June, Donald Trump praised European leaders who agreed to raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. At the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers this week in Brussels, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau stated that it is "obvious" that Europeans should take responsibility for Europe's defense. "Successive US administrations have said this in one way or another, our administration means what it says," Landau said in a post on the X network.
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