The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of Nato’s conventional defence 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 US official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing Nato policy and several European delegations.
The shifting of this burden from the US to European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation would dramatically change how the US, a founding member of the post-war alliance, works with its most important military partners.
In the meeting, Pentagon officials indicated that Washington was not yet satisfied with the strides Europe has made to boost its defence capabilities since Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The US officials told their counterparts that if Europe does not meet the 2027 deadline, the US may stop participating in some Nato defence coordination mechanisms, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Some officials on Capitol Hill are aware of and concerned about the Pentagon’s message to the Europeans, one US official said.
No clarity on how US would measure Nato’s progress
Conventional defence capabilities include non-nuclear assets from troops to weapons and the officials did not explain how the US would measure Europe’s progress toward shouldering most of the burden.
It was also not clear if the 2027 deadline represented the Trump administration’s position or only the views of some Pentagon officials. There are significant disagreements in Washington over the military role the US should play in Europe.
Several 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 US capabilities in the short term.
Among other challenges, Nato allies face production backlogs for military equipment they are trying to purchase. While US officials have encouraged Europe to buy more US-made materiel, some of the most prized US-made weapons and defence systems would take years to be delivered if ordered today.
The US also contributes capabilities that cannot simply be purchased, including unique intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance that have proven key to the Ukrainian war effort.
Asked for comment, a Nato official speaking for the alliance said European allies had begun taking more responsibility for the continent’s security, but did not comment on the 2027 deadline.
