Pressure from Washington has sharpened this momentum. A U.S. security strategy released in December framed Europe as a weakened partner and reinforced expectations that it assume primary responsibility for NATO’s conventional defense by 2027. At the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague, allies agreed to aim for defense spending equal to 5 percent of GDP by 2035—an ambition most European states remain far from reaching.
European leaders pushed back, emphasizing that strategic partnership does not require political submission. Still, the exchange underscored a growing transatlantic distance and revived long-standing questions about Europe’s strategic autonomy. Continue reading…
