Trump rocked European allies this month by threatening to seize Greenland from NATO and EU member Denmark. The crisis has reinforced calls for the European continent to cut its decades-long reliance on the US for defences.
Politico spoke to more than a dozen NATO insiders, diplomats, and current and former colleagues of NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte. They described a leader admired as a skilled crisis manager who recently pulled off a win on Greenland, but at the cost of deepening European unease about NATO’s long-term future.
The strain was on full display Monday in the European Parliament, where Rutte was blunt about the US military supremacy, “If anyone thinks here … that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the US., keep on dreaming,” he told lawmakers. “You can’t.”
The reaction was swift — and angry. “No, dear Mark Rutte,” France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot shot back on X. “Europeans can and must take charge of their own security. This is the European pillar of NATO.”
“It was a disgraceful moment,” said Nathalie Loiseau, a former French Europe minister and now an MEP. “We don’t need a Trump zealot. NATO needs to rebalance between U.S. and European efforts.”
Spain’s Nacho Sánchez Amor was even more direct. “Are you the [U.S.] ambassador to [NATO],” the Socialist MEP asked Rutte in a heated exchange, “or the secretary-general representing the alliance and its members?”
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas, said, “Let me be clear: we want strong transatlantic ties. The US will remain Europe’s partner and ally. But Europe needs to adapt to the new realities. Europe is no longer Washington’s primary centre of gravity,” Kallas told a defence conference in Brussels.
“This shift has been ongoing for a while. It is structural, not temporary. It means that Europe must step up -– no great power in history has outsourced its survival and survived.”
“Especially now, as the US is setting its sights beyond Europe, NATO needs to become more European to maintain its strength,” she said.
Sources:
Max Delany, AFP: Europe Urged To ‘Step Up’ On Defence As Trump Upends Ties https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260128-europe-urged-to-step-up-on-defence-as-trump-upends-ties
Victor Jack, Politico: Mark Rutte’s Trump flattery strains NATO https://www.politico.eu/article/mark-rutte-donald-trump-flattery-nato/
Also: NATO’s security general says Europe cannot defend itself without the US