The United States is pushing Europe to take on far more responsibility for NATO’s conventional defense from intelligence gathering to missile capabilities and it wants that shift completed by 2027. That’s according to Pentagon officials who delivered the message to European diplomats during meetings in Washington this week.
Five sources familiar with those discussions including a U.S. official say the deadline stunned several European representatives who see the timeline as extremely tight and potentially unrealistic. But Washington’s position is clear: Europe must shoulder a much larger share of the alliance’s military burden.
Pentagon officials told their counterparts that despite the reforms and spending increases seen since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the U.S. still believes Europe is moving too slowly. They warned that if European governments fail to meet the 2027 target the U.S. may pull back from key NATO defense coordination mechanisms a move that would fundamentally alter how America engages with the alliance it helped create after World War Two.
Sources say some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are already aware of these discussions and worry about the implications of the Pentagon’s warning. But for now the message to Europe remains firm: step up defense capabilities or risk a major shift in the transatlantic security relationship.
