Mark Rutte warned NATO on Friday that the alliance needs to move away from an over-reliance on the United States, saying Europe and Canada are already stepping up with more spending and greater responsibility for conventional defence. Ahead of a meeting of the bloc in Sweden, he said the alliance will always remain transatlantic, but it must move toward a fairer sharing of the burden.
“Moving away from unhealthy over-reliance on one Ally to a fairer sharing of the responsibility for our collective security,” Rutte said, adding that “as anticipated, the United States is also adapting.” He said NATO’s Command Structure is seeing a new distribution of leadership roles, with Europe set to lead all three Joint Force Commands while the US will lead the three component commands.
The warning comes as reports indicate the Trump administration is planning to reduce the pool of military assets available to NATO countries during a crisis or conflict. President Donald Trump has made clear he expects European countries to take over primary responsibility for the continent’s security from the United States, a shift that Rutte framed as part of a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.
Rutte said the change is taking place because security in Europe has fundamentally changed and is now more dangerous and more contested. He said Russia remains the most direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security and continues to wage a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine.
“We will continue to see this transformation to a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO: NATO 3.0. A stronger NATO, with a healthier, more sustainable division of responsibilities to deliver the security we all need,” he said. He added that allies face persistent and growing attempts to undermine security and stability, including cyber-attacks, sabotage and threats to critical infrastructure.
The message was blunt: NATO is not breaking with Washington, but it is being pushed to function differently. Rutte is telling allies that the alliance’s future will depend less on American capacity alone and more on whether Europe and Canada can carry a larger share of the load while keeping the US inside the system that still anchors collective defence.
