NATO Chief: "Europe Cannot Defend Itself Without the U.S."

Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), countered the idea of European strategic autonomy, which has been raised in some quarters of Europe, by stating, "Europe cannot defend itself without the United States."

According to AFP and Reuters on the 26th (local time), Secretary General Rutte appeared before the European Parliament and said, "If anyone here thinks that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the United States, keep dreaming," adding, "That is simply not possible."

Secretary General Rutte stated that a strong U.S. conventional military presence would continue to be stationed in Europe, and that the nuclear umbrella would also be provided. He then addressed the idea of European strategic autonomy, saying, "Think again, because Russian President Vladimir Putin would like that."

Since last year, several European NATO member states have floated ideas for independent defense, including sharing the nuclear umbrella of the United Kingdom and France. Such voices have grown louder recently following U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to annex Greenland.

Andrius Kubilius, the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Defense and Space, argued on the 11th that Europe should consider establishing a standing army of 100,000 troops. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson appeared on SVT the previous day and said, "We need to build a European version of NATO."

However, Secretary General Rutte argued that it would cost tens of billions of euros (trillions of won) for Europe to build its own nuclear capabilities and would require 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to be spent on defense. Last year, President Trump pressured and succeeded in getting NATO member states to spend 5% of their GDP on defense.

Secretary General Rutte said, "In that scenario, we would lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, the American nuclear umbrella," and added sarcastically, "Good luck with that."