Europe's Defense Dilemma: Can It Stand Alone?

In Brussels, NATO's Secretary-General Mark Rutte made a bold statement. He said Europe can't defend itself without the U. S. He believes Europe needs to spend much more on defense to even think about going solo. Rutte was speaking to EU lawmakers. He said Europe and the U. S. need each other. He also said Europe would need to spend twice as much as planned to defend itself alone. Recently, tensions rose within NATO. U. S. President Donald Trump threatened to annex Greenland. Greenland is part of Denmark, a NATO ally. Trump also threatened new tariffs on Greenland's European supporters. But later, he dropped these threats after a deal was reached. Few details about this deal are known. NATO has a mutual defense clause. This is Article 5 of its founding treaty. It means every NATO country must defend an ally under threat.At a NATO summit in July, most European allies agreed to a demand. They promised to spend more on defense. They agreed to spend 3. 5% of their GDP on defense. Plus, another 1. 5% on security-related infrastructure. This totals 5% of GDP by 2035. Rutte said this isn't enough. He said Europe would need to spend 10% of GDP to defend itself alone. He also mentioned building a nuclear capability. This would cost billions. France has been pushing for Europe to build its own defense. Support for this idea has grown. This is partly because of the Trump administration's stance. They said their security priorities lie elsewhere. They suggested Europe should fend for itself. Rutte warned lawmakers about the consequences. He said without the U. S. , Europe would lose its ultimate freedom guarantor. This is the U. S. nuclear umbrella. He ended with a sarcastic remark: "So, hey, good luck! "