NATO’s Rutte Says Europe Cannot Defend Itself Without U.S. After Greenland Deal

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief

BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned Tuesday that Europe remains incapable of defending itself without American military support, saying European nations would need to more than double current defense spending to stand on their own.

“If anyone thinks that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the United States, keep on dreaming. You can’t,” Rutte told lawmakers at the European Parliament in Brussels, adding pointedly, “Good luck,” as he cautioned against what he called unrealistic expectations of European military independence.

His remarks came shortly after Rutte helped broker a framework deal with Donald J. Trump to defuse tensions over Greenland, the mineral-rich, semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Tensions within NATO had escalated after Trump renewed threats to annex Greenland and impose new tariffs on European allies backing Denmark’s control of the island.

Trump later dropped the tariff threats after the framework was reached, though few details have been made public.

STRONGER SECURITY GUARANTEES

Diplomats say the understanding includes stronger security assurances in the Arctic, a region of growing strategic importance as melting ice opens shipping routes and intensifies competition with Russia and China.

Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, has drawn mixed reactions at home. In the Netherlands, some media outlets mocked his unusually personal diplomacy with Trump, including a joking remark in which he referred to the U.S. president as “daddy.”

However, foreign diplomats and NATO officials have praised Rutte’s approach, saying his direct engagement helped avert a deeper transatlantic crisis and prevented a serious escalation over Greenland’s status.

The 32-nation alliance is bound by Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty, committing members to defend any ally under attack—a principle that has gained renewed urgency amid the war in Ukraine and wider global instability.

Analysts say the Greenland episode underscores both Europe’s continued reliance on U.S. military power and Washington’s leverage within NATO, even as pressure grows on European governments to boost defense spending and assume greater responsibility for their own security.

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