US official urges Europe to take charge of conventional defence as global competition intensifies

A senior US defence official addressed NATO ministers in Brussels with a blunt message: the era of assuming American forces will plug European conventional gaps is over, and allies must build and sustain fightable forces at home. The speaker framed Washington’s stance as strategic prioritisation — not abandonment — saying the US will concentrate forces and resources where its influence can be decisive while expecting European partners to close capability shortfalls in theatre. The intervention came against a backdrop of visible diplomatic friction with Washington — including recent rows over Greenland and trade rhetoric — that has widened a trust gap and sharpened debate about the scale of European autonomy. Ministers used the meeting to press for concrete steps: NATO announced an Arctic‑focused mission to bolster deterrence in the High North and unveiled plans to rebalance day‑to‑day operational command roles, handing leadership of several joint force commands to European officers over time while the US retains the alliance’s top military post. The US defence secretary’s absence from the meeting, with a deputy attending in his stead, added symbolic weight to the message and reinforced calls in capitals to accelerate capability delivery. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s recent warnings that Europe lacks the industrial and fiscal capacity to substitute for US guarantees were cited in discussions as a reality check on the scale of investment required. Allies have reiterated pledges to raise defence outlays and to bundle military spending with infrastructure and resilience investment through 2035, but officials warned converting budgets into deployable units will take years and that transitional seams—interoperability, logistics and national caveats—pose operational risks. The speech urged NATO to refocus on conventional deterrence rooted in forward‑stationed, ready forces rather than primarily expeditionary missions, and encouraged multinational procurement, training and command arrangements to produce credible, fightable units. Delegates discussed immediate practical measures — defence‑industrial cooperation, supply‑chain hedging, stockpiles for critical inputs and clearer rotational arrangements for headquarters and logistics — to reduce vulnerabilities while capacity builds. The address is likely to sharpen debates in national capitals and at upcoming forums such as the Munich Security Conference over timelines, burdens, and the political trade‑offs of deeper integration. In short, the US message redefines burden‑sharing as an operational imperative: European governments must translate political pledges into sustained investment and institutional change or accept a period of strategic hedging and higher risk of adversary probing.