The EU should stop dreaming of creating a European pillar for NATO and continue to build ties with the US despite Trump, the alliance's secretary general said.
Europe is unable to defend itself without America, NATO chief Mark Rutte said on Monday, just days after Donald Trump's repeated threats to seize Greenland brought the alliance to the brink of collapse, Politico reports.
"If anyone here thinks that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the US, let them keep dreaming", he told members of the European Parliament's defence and foreign affairs committees. "This is impossible."
"The European pillar [of NATO] is somewhat of an empty phrase," Rutte said, noting that a European army would create "a lot of duplication" with the alliance. Moreover, Russian President Vladimir "Putin would like that very much," he added.
This largely contradicts what European Union Defense Commissioner Andrew Kubilius said in mid-January that the bloc should consider creating a standing military force of 100,000 soldiers and review the political processes governing defense.
Faced with Russian aggression and a shift in U.S. focus away from Europe and threats to Greenland, Kubilius advocated a "big bang" approach to rethink Europe's common defense.
"Would the United States be militarily stronger if it had 50 state-level armies instead of one federal army?“, he said at the Stockholm conference under the motto "Europe under pressure" . "Fifty state defense policies and state-level defense budgets instead of one federal defense policy and budget?" If our answer is "no", the US will not be stronger, then – what are we waiting for?", was the rhetorical question asked by Kubilius.
The European Commissioner pointed out that Europe's defense readiness depends on three pillars: more investment in production capacity; institutions that are prepared and organized; political will to deter and, if necessary, to fight.
In addition, Rutte insisted that Europe must maintain open channels of communication with the United States and that the American president remains loyal to the alliance. Washington is still "fully committed" to the alliance's collective defense, he said. "The United States needs NATO."
He also did not fail to credit Trump for getting all NATO countries to increase their defense spending to at least 2% of GDP as of last year.
"Do you really think that Spain, Italy, Belgium and Canada would decide to go from 1.5% to 2%... without Trump. There is no way," Rutte said. Without the US, defending Europe would cost a fortune, he added.
"For Europe, if you really want to do it yourself... forget that you can do it with 5%", Rutte said, referring to NATO allies' pledge to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. "It will be 10%", he said, and replacing America's nuclear deterrent would cost "billions and billions of euros".
The secretary-general's assurances that Trump is committed to NATO follow weeks of threats by the US president that he could take Greenland by force and that he would impose new tariffs on European countries for stationing limited troops on the self-governing Danish territory.
A supposed deal on Greenland
Last week, Trump finally ruled out the use of force and made a U-turn on tariffs after striking a deal that he said would give the United States greater control over the giant Arctic island - even though both Denmark and Greenland insist they will not compromise on their sovereignty.
Rutte, whom Trump credited with brokering the supposed agreement, admitted that he "has no mandate to negotiate" on Denmark's behalf. He also rejected the idea that the Greenland talks were about the U.S. providing security guarantees to Ukraine.
The EU should also not exclude U.S. arms companies from a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine, the former long-serving prime minister of the Netherlands said.
"The loan package ... will be of enormous importance for the security of Ukraine," Rutte told European lawmakers. "But here I would like to urge you to provide flexibility in the way these funds can be spent, and not to be too restrictive with the request "buy from the EU"."
In its proposal published this month, the European Commission said two-thirds of the funds would be earmarked for Ukraine’s military spending, with EU arms manufacturers given priority as suppliers.
As a result, Kiev can use the loan to buy non-European weapons only if there is an “urgent need for a given product and there is no alternative” and if it has received approval from the EU’s executive and the bloc’s capitals.
This comes after France, backed by Greece and Cyprus, lobbied to ban non-EU countries such as the United States from winning contracts funded with the funds – a move opposed by countries such as Germany and the Netherlands.
Rutte warned that limiting Kiev's ability to make spending decisions would hamper its military efforts.
"Europe is currently building up its defense industry... but at the moment it cannot provide... almost anything that Ukraine needs to defend itself today," he said. "So when you accept this loan, I urge you to continue to put Ukraine's needs first."
Last week, the European Parliament agreed to accelerate the loan, which is scheduled to run until 2027, while EU capitals negotiate a compromise on the proposal.
Paris hits back at Rutte
The French government has hit back at Mark Rutte after the NATO secretary general said Europe could not defend itself without the United States.
"No, dear Mark Rutte. Europeans can and must take responsibility for their own security. Even the United States agrees. This is the European pillar of NATO," wrote on social media "Ex" French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
On Monday, answering a question from French far-right MEP Pierre-Romain Thionnet, Rutte told the European Parliament that the continent could not defend itself without American support. He also opposed the idea of a European army, a concept recently revived by EU Defense Commissioner Andrews Kubilis.
However, since US President Donald Trump returned to power, his administration has insisted that Washington will be less involved in Europe's security. The new US National Defense Strategy, published on Friday evening, states that Europeans will have to take the lead against threats, arguing that Europe is economically and militarily capable of defending itself against Russia.
Barrot was not the only one in France to oppose Rutte's comments.
Muriel Domenach, a former French ambassador to NATO, wrote in "Ex": "With all due respect to the NATO Secretary General, the right question is not whether Europe can, but whether and how it should deter any attack and defend itself if necessary; "nor is the right answer to flaunt European weakness to secure the US guarantee, which is an outdated understanding and sends the wrong message to Russia."
Without specifically mentioning Rutte, French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin told French radio that "what we see today is the need for a European pillar of NATO." and that "The United States is our ally, but we don't always follow the same line".
The idea of collectively strengthening Europeans within a military alliance, first proposed by France a few years ago, is now supported by other countries, including Germany.
Rutte's comments also contradict the assessment of Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who, as quoted by the "Wall Street Journal", said in Davos last week that Europeans could defend themselves if attacked, even without direct US military assistance.