WASHINGTON
\nThe United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO\u2019s conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic.
\nThe message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a U.S. official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing NATO policy and several European delegations.
\nThe shifting of this burden from the U.S. to European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would dramatically change how the United States, a founding member of the post-war alliance, works with its most important military partners.
\nIn the meeting, Pentagon officials indicated that Washington was not yet satisfied with the strides Europe has made to boost its defense capabilities since Russia\u2019s expanded invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
\nThe U.S. officials told their counterparts that if Europe does not meet the 2027 deadline, the U.S. may stop participating in some NATO defense coordination mechanisms, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
\nSome officials on Capitol Hill are aware of and concerned about the Pentagon\u2019s message to the Europeans, one U.S. official said.
\nNO CLARITY ON HOW US WOULD MEASURE NATO\u2019S PROGRESS
\nConventional defense capabilities include non-nuclear assets from troops to weapons and the officials did not explain how the U.S. would measure Europe\u2019s progress toward shouldering most of the burden.
\nIt was also not clear if the 2027 deadline represented the Trump administration position or only the views of some Pentagon officials. There are significant disagreements in Washington over the military role the U.S. should play in Europe.
\nSeveral European officials said that a 2027 deadline was not realistic no matter how Washington measures progress, since Europe needs more than money and political will to replace certain U.S. capabilities in the short term.
\nAmong other challenges, NATO allies face production backlogs for military equipment they are trying to purchase. While U.S. officials have encouraged Europe to buy more U.S.-made materiel, some of the most prized U.S.-made weapons and defense systems would take years to be delivered if ordered today.
\nThe U.S. also contributes capabilities that cannot simply be purchased, like unique intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance that have proven key to the Ukrainian war effort.
\nAsked for comment, a NATO official speaking for the alliance said European allies had begun taking more responsibility for the continent\u2019s security, but did not comment on the 2027 deadline.
\n\u201cAllies have recognized the need to invest more in defense and shift the burden on conventional defense\u201d from the U.S. to Europe, the official said.
\nThe Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
\nEuropean nations have broadly accepted U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s demand they take more responsibility for their own security and have pledged big increases in defense spending.
\nThe European Union has set a target of making the continent ready to defend itself by 2030 and says it must fill gaps in its air defenses, drones, cyber warfare capabilities, munitions and other areas. Officials and analysts said even that deadline is highly ambitious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of NATO\u2019s conventional defense capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic. The message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a U.S. official, was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-518628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n