Financial Times: ‘Europe makes a plan to take over Role within NATO’

This article was last updated on March 21, 2025

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Financial Times: ‘Europe makes a plan to take over Role within NATO’

The largest military powers in Europe are working on a plan to take over the role of the United States within NATO within a few years, writes The Financial Times. The plan would be intended to prevent the US from suddenly withdrawing from the military alliance. The British newspaper spoke with four European officials involved in the plans.

The United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries are among the countries that are currently conducting “informal but structured conversations”. The aim is to come up with a plan that will contain the financial and military burdens for the defense of Europe in European countries. The proposal must be presented to the US this summer prior to the NATO summit in The Hague this summer.

The proposal should contain strong commitments about increasing defense expenditure and building military capacities. That should convince Trump to agree with a gradual transition, so that the US can focus on Asia.

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According to Professor of War Studies Frans Osinga, the plans serve a dual purpose: “This is both a preparation in case Europe really has to defend itself and a guide to the US to show that we are really doing well with our defense.”

“With that they try to maintain the transatlantic bond,” he continues. According to Osinga, this is partly inspired by the hard attitude of the Trump government, but it is also simply part of the plans to distribute the burdens within NATO more fairly.

US officials have assured their European colleagues that Trump is dedicated to the military alliance, including Article 5 from the NATO Treaty. It states that an attack on one of the countries is seen as an attack on all.

‘Five to ten years’

Yet many European countries fear that the White House could decide to suddenly reduce the use of troops and equipment in Europe. Trump has often announced that he thinks Europe is doing far too little in the field of defense and was already threatening with a departure from NATO.

The Americans are still by far the most important military and financial strength within NATO. According to the sources of The Financial Times, it would take about five to ten years to bring the European capacities to a level at which they can replace the most American responsibilities, apart from the American nuclear deterrence.

According to Osinga, we will remain dependent on some aspects, but a large catch -up is possible in five years. “In many areas, such as long -distance weapons and complex intelligence systems, we have shortcomings compared to the US. This sometimes involves large systems, so it will take time to catch that.”

Not all countries prepared

The Financial Times writes that some European countries were not willing to participate in the conversations. They would be afraid that the plans would encourage Trump to take a step back faster. Others are skeptical whether the US government is open to such an appointment at all.

Prime Minister Schoof said yesterday that he is aware that plans are being made “for all possible scenarios”. He emphasized that cooperation with the United States remains the starting point. “But I think it is always wise to work with scenarios, even a sausage case scenario, so I have no objection to that.”

NATO correspondent Kysia Hekster:

“Mark Rutte says publicly time and time again that he is convinced that Trump is completely dedicated to NATO. Apparently not everyone is so comfortable with that. It is logical that there is a consideration about all options. There is also more and more reason for that.

It is a very bad sign that the Trump government is considering no longer supplying NATO’s highest soldier, such as the American news channel NBC This week reported. The withdrawal would fit in with the major cuts that are currently being implemented at the US Department of Defense.

From the very beginning of the Alliance, the highest soldier is an American four -star general. Such a general has all the ins and outs of the US Army and the Pentagon, benefits that a European soldier cannot simply take over.

Military experts agree that less and less of NATO remains when Trump really takes this step. “This would be seen by Europe as an important signal that the Americans distance themselves from the alliance,” warned one of the former soldiers who held the position. “