{"id":2001,"date":"2026-02-15T22:18:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T22:18:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/2001\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T22:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T22:18:26","slug":"us-urges-europe-to-take-the-lead-on-defence-in-nato-nato-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/2001\/","title":{"rendered":"US urges Europe to take the lead on defence in NATO | NATO News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby says current NATO approach \u2018no longer fit for purpose\u2019.<\/p>\n

Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins<\/p>\n

info<\/p>\n

Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has called for NATO \u201cpartnerships not dependencies\u201d, saying Europe must take primary responsibility for its defence.<\/p>\n

The US official was in Brussels to meet with NATO\u2019s defence ministers on Thursday, where he delivered remarks<\/a> calling for \u201cclear-eyed realism and fundamental adaptation by all\u201d.<\/p>\n

Noting that the current approach of the military alliance was \u201cno longer fit for purpose\u201d, he said a new \u201cNATO 3.0\u201d required \u201cmuch greater efforts by our allies to step up and assume primary responsibility for the conventional defence of Europe\u201d.<\/p>\n

Insisting that the US\u2019s reprioritising of its interests was not a retreat from Europe, he said it was an \u201caffirmation of strategic pragmatism and a recognition of our allies\u2019 undeniable ability to step up\u201d.<\/p>\n

Colby said the US would continue to provide its extended nuclear deterrent and, \u201cin a more limited and focused fashion\u201d, contribute to NATO\u2019s defence, as well as \u201ctrain, exercise, and plan alongside our allies\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we will also continue to press, respectfully but firmly and insistently, for a rebalancing of roles and burdens within the Alliance,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

PURL pledges<\/p>\n

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said<\/a> at a news conference on Thursday that the meeting was \u201cone of the most pivotal\u201d that he had been part of.<\/p>\n

He said that he believed that the longer term would see the US\u2019s \u201cnuclear umbrella as the ultimate guarantor of our security here in Europe and Canada, but also a strong conventional presence of the US here in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told reporters that NATO states have announced hundreds of millions of dollars in support for the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL). The initiative supplies Ukraine with US-made equipment and munitions.<\/p>\n

Rutte thanked the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Lithuania for their contributions, and said he expected more pledges soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that the billions are coming in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more protection from Russian strikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the \u2018Patriots\u2019 that work most effectively against Russian ballistics, and the supply of missiles to these systems is needed every day,\u201d he said, thanking those who contribute to the PURL programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that is currently in the air defence programme should come faster. Thank you to the leaders who understand this and help.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby says current NATO approach \u2018no longer fit for purpose\u2019. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[18,69,451,144,1865],"class_list":{"0":"post-2001","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brussels","8":"tag-brussels","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-nato","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-us-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}