US demands Europe take over NATO defense by 2027
Фото: Reuters
The US is demanding that NATO’s European members assume most of the alliance’s conventional defense capabilities by 2027.
Reuters reports this.
The Pentagon told European delegations at a meeting in Washington that Europe is not moving fast enough to build up its defense capabilities after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the agency, the United States has warned allies that if Europe does not meet the requirements by 2027, Washington may stop participating in part of NATO’s defense coordination.
European officials have called such deadlines unrealistic, as many countries lack not only money and political will, but also production capacity. They point out that key US weapons, even if ordered now, may not be delivered for several years. Europe has also faced delays in the production of its own equipment.
A number of Reuters interlocutors emphasized that the United States provides critical, unique capabilities – including intelligence – that Europe will not be able to quickly replace.
NATO said that Europeans are already taking on more responsibility, but did not comment on the date of 2027. Meanwhile, the EU has set itself the goal of providing the continent with its own defense capabilities by 2030, but even this deadline is called very ambitious by analysts.
Amid the debate, the US position on NATO remains controversial: Donald Trump sharply criticizes the Europeans for “insufficient spending,” but at the same time praises them for agreeing to raise the defense budget to 5% of GDP and declares his willingness to negotiate with Moscow on Ukraine, often without the participation of European allies.
As previously reported, the administration of US President Donald Trump has released a new security strategy for the United States, which outlines the country’s strategic priorities.
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