Rutte: Europe’s dependence on the US for defense is “unacceptable in the long term”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the current way the 32-member alliance operates is “unacceptable in the long term” — Europe relies too heavily on the United States for its defense.

Rutte spoke in an individual interview with Euronews correspondent Maria Tadeo at the outlet’s defense and space summit in Brussels on Wednesday, September 30. He said the problem is not America’s commitment to its alliance obligations, but how the burden of spending is distributed between the two sides of the Atlantic.

“It is unacceptable that one country — the United States — bears an excessive responsibility for the defense of 600 million Europeans. We are the wealthiest part of the world. And yet we are completely dependent on a country that is so far away. That is exactly what we are now changing,” Rutte said.

According to the secretary general, the United States will remain involved in European security — both in the nuclear and conventional spheres. Rutte also noted that President Donald Trump “hated only one thing”: insufficient defense spending by European member states. Now, Rutte said, Europe is taking responsibility for its own security.

In the same conversation, Rutte addressed the topic of Russia’s nuclear rhetoric. According to the alliance’s official transcript, he said: “We are a defensive alliance, and Russia must stop its nuclear threats.” Euronews presented this statement as Rutte’s call on Moscow to halt nuclear threats.

The interview took place as part of the first Euronews defense and space summit, which was the largest event in the outlet’s history. It was attended by defense ministers, military commanders, senior officials, and executives from the defense industry. In Euronews’s assessment, the transatlantic partnership is under unprecedented pressure, with Trump’s “America First” policy distancing the US from its traditional role in European security.

Other topics on the summit’s agenda included Ukraine’s drive to develop interceptor drones as quickly as possible to counter Russian jet-powered drone strikes, as well as Estonia’s accusations against Russia over an arson attack at a defense facility.