The United States wants Europe to take over most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) conventional defense capabilities, including intelligence and missiles, by 2027, a Pentagon official told diplomats in Washington this week, according to sources familiar with the matter. Photographed in September near Ozysz, Poland (2025 Reuters/Kacper Pempel)
[ワシントン ５日 ロイター] – The United States wants Europe to take over most of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) conventional defense capabilities, including intelligence and missiles, by 2027, a Pentagon official told diplomats in Washington this week, according to sources. Some European officials have said that the deadline of 2027 is unrealistic.
Five people familiar with the talks, including U.S. officials, said. The US policy was communicated this week in Washington at a meeting between Pentagon officials responsible for NATO policy and several European delegations.
Pentagon officials suggested at the meeting that the United States is still not satisfied with the progress Europe has made in strengthening its defense capabilities since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. officials have told international officials that if Europe doesn’t meet a 2027 deadline, the U.S. could suspend participation in some parts of NATO’s defense coordination mechanism, sources said.
U.S. officials did not explain how the United States would assess Europe’s progress toward shouldering the bulk of NATO’s defense burden. It is unclear whether the 2027 deadline reflects the Trump administration’s position or whether it is just the opinion of some Pentagon officials. There are differences of opinion even within the US government regarding the military role that the US should play in Europe.
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