Europe Asia News

Speaking on Monday at the European Parliament in Brussels, Rutte said: “If anyone here again thinks that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the United States, let them keep dreaming. You can’t. We can’t. We need each other.”

The NATO chief warned European countries that, if they “really want to do it on their own,” they would have to raise defense spending to 10% and added that they would need to develop their own nuclear capabilities, which would cost billions of euros.

“In that scenario, you would lose the U.S. nuclear umbrella, the ultimate guarantor of our freedom. So, good luck,” he said.

The comments came after a bumpy week for Europe and its Western allies, after President Donald Trump continued to press demands for Greenland to come under U.S. ownership and then, in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, did not explicitly rule out the use of force to annex the Arctic island.

The NATO Secretary General continued to praise Trump for raising the issue of Arctic security and acknowledged that the president’s defense would likely unsettle many people in the room.

“I think he’s right. There is an issue with the Arctic. There is a collective security issue, because these sea lanes are opening up and the Chinese and the Russians are becoming increasingly active,” he said.

Rutte said there would be two areas of work going forward regarding the Greenland issue. The first would involve NATO taking on more collective responsibility for Arctic defense and preventing Russia and China from gaining access to the region both militarily and economically.