Europe is “dreaming” if it believes it can defend itself without US backing, Nato’s secretary-general has warned, pushing back against calls in some EU capitals to prepare for a future without Washington’s protection.
The comments come after Donald Trump threatened to use military force to seize Greenland from Nato ally Denmark and to impose tariffs on other allies who opposed him — remarks that unsettled European governments and reignited debate over the continent’s reliance on the US. Although the US president rescinded the threats last week, they prompted renewed calls for Europe to accelerate efforts to strengthen its own defence capabilities.
Mark Rutte, Nato’s secretary-general who last week persuaded Trump to withdraw his threats, dismissed those arguments on Monday. Rutte told EU lawmakers that building a fully independent European defence would be prohibitively expensive and would benefit only the bloc’s adversaries, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.