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.
