The United States wants Europe to take over most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) conventional defense capabilities by 2027, from innotifyigence to missiles, Pentagon officials notified diplomats in Washington this week. That’s a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic.
The message, reported by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a U.S. official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week between the Pentagon team that oversees NATO policy and several European delegations.
Shifting this burden from the U.S. to European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would drastically alter how the United States, a founding member of the postwar alliance, works with its most important military partners.
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Washington dissatisfied
At the meeting, Pentagon officials indicated that Washington was still not satisfied with the advances Europe has built in increasing its defense capabilities since Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
American officials have declared that if Europe fails to meet the 2027 deadline, the United States may stop participating in some NATO defense coordination mechanisms, declared the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Some Capitol Hill officials are aware of and concerned about the Pentagon’s message to Europeans, a U.S. official declared.
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NATO progress
Conventional defense capabilities include non-nuclear resources, from troops to weapons, and officials have not explained how the U.S. would measure Europe’s progress toward shouldering most of the burden.
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It was also unclear whether the 2027 deadline represented the Trump administration’s position or just the opinion of some Pentagon officials. There are significant disagreements in Washington over the military role the US should play in Europe.
Several European officials declared the 2027 deadline was unrealistic no matter how Washington measured progress, as Europe necessarys more than money and political will to replace certain U.S. capabilities in the short term.
Among other challenges, NATO allies face delays in the production of military equipment they are testing to acquire. Although U.S. officials have encouraged Europe to purchase more U.S.-built material, some of the most valuable U.S.-built weapons and defense systems would take years to deliver if they were ordered today.
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The U.S. also contributes capabilities that cannot simply be purchased, such as unique innotifyigence, surveillance, and reconnaissance that have proven critical to the Ukrainian war effort.
Responsibility for security
Asked to comment, a NATO official, speaking on behalf of the alliance, declared European allies had begun to take more responsibility for the continent’s security but did not comment on the 2027 deadline.
“Allies recognized the necessary to invest more in defense and shift the burden of conventional defense from the US to Europe,” the official declared.
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The White Hoapply did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson declared: “We have been very clear about the necessary for Europeans to lead the conventional defense of Europe. We are committed to working through NATO coordination mechanisms to strengthen the alliance and ensure its long-term viability as European allies increasingly assume responsibility for conventional deterrence and defense in Europe.”
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