NATO chief Mark Rutte emphasised that Europe cannot defend itself without the United States, especially amid tensions over Greenland. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gestures as he arrives to address the foreign affairs committee at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, January 26, 2026. REUTERS/Yves Herman(REUTERS)NATO chief Mark Rutte warned on Monday (local time) that Europe cannot protect itself without the United States, amid calls for Europe to become more self-reliant following tensions over Greenland, AFP reported.
US President Donald Trump roiled the transatlantic alliance by threatening to seize the autonomous Danish territory — before backing off after talks with Rutte last week.
The diplomatic crisis gave fresh momentum to those advocating for Europe to take a tougher line against Trump and break its military reliance on Washington.
Here’s what NATO chief Mark Rutte“If anyone thinks here again, that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US — keep on dreaming. You can’t,” Rutte told lawmakers at the European Parliament, AFP reported.
He said that EU countries would have to double defence spending from the five percent NATO target agreed last year to 10 percent and spend “billions and billions” on building nuclear arms.
“You would lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella,” the former Dutch prime minister said. “So hey, good luck.”
France reacts to NATO chief’s remarksFrance’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot pushed back against the NATO chief’s remarks, writing on X on Monday evening that “Europeans can and must take responsibility for their own security.”
Rutte insisted that the US commitment to NATO’s Article Five mutual defence clause remained “total”, but that the United States expected European countries to keep spending more on their militaries, AFP reported.
“They need a secure Euro-Atlantic, and they also need a secure Europe. So the US has every interest in NATO,” he said.
The NATO head reiterated his repeated praise for Trump for pressuring reluctant European allies to step up defence spending.
He also appeared to knock back a suggestion floated by the EU’s defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius, earlier this month for a possible European defence force that could replace US troops on the continent.
“Putin will love it…””It will make things more complicated. I think (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will love it. So think again,” Rutte said.
On Greenland, Rutte said he had agreed with Trump that NATO would “take more responsibility for the defence of the Arctic”, but it was up to Greenlandic and Danish authorities to negotiate over US presence on the island.
“I have no mandate to negotiate on behalf of Denmark, so I didn’t, and I will not,” he said.
Rutte said he had reminded Trump of the sacrifices NATO allies made in Afghanistan after the US leader sparked outrage by downplaying their role.
“For every two American soldiers who paid the ultimate price, one soldier of an ally or a partner, a NATO ally or a partner country, did not return home,” he said.
“I know that America greatly appreciates all the efforts.”
(With inputs from AFP)