Rutte in Munich: Europe stepping up to lead NATO

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said European allies are increasingly taking a leadership role within the alliance, arguing that higher defence spending across NATO is strengthening the transatlantic relationship rather than weakening it.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference following a NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels, Rutte described what he called a “real shift in mindset” among allies, with European nations and Canada stepping up investment and assuming greater responsibility for their own defence.

“Yesterday we had the Defence Ministers session with NATO, and there was a real shift in mindset,” he said. “The Europeans now, all, and Canada, on 2%, and we agreed, of course, in The Hague… to reach the 5%.”

Rutte said the shift was not simply about meeting spending targets, but reflected a deeper political change in how European governments view their role in NATO. He suggested this would reinforce the US commitment to the alliance by addressing longstanding American concerns over unequal burden-sharing.

“What I was also seeing yesterday is this notion of Europe really stepping up, taking more of a leadership role within NATO, and also taking more responsibility for its own defence,” he said. “And I think this will only strengthen NATO.” He added that Europe’s increased spending would remove what he described as a persistent point of friction between Washington and its allies.

“I’m convinced it anchors the United States even more in NATO than it was already because of this dealing with this big irritant… of Europeans spending less than the Americans,” Rutte said. Asked about the role of the United States, Rutte insisted Washington remained fully committed to NATO’s collective defence posture, including its nuclear deterrent. “They are totally committed… both nuclear and conventional, to the Alliance,” he said.

Rutte also said the priority for allies remained continued military support to Ukraine, describing fresh funding commitments as “good news” but warning that more urgent assistance was still needed, particularly in air defence.

“One: good news, more money coming in to support Ukraine in the war effort, but we still need more,” he said. “Particularly, we need interceptors. We need the ammunition to make sure Ukraine can stay strong in the fight.”

During the exchange, he also rejected suggestions that Russia was winning in Ukraine, claiming Moscow’s progress was slow and coming at a heavy cost. “What I will also be doing today and tomorrow is make clear that the Russians are not winning this,” he said. “This so-called Russian bear is not there.”

Rutte described Russia’s battlefield movement as sluggish, while pointing to what he claimed were high monthly casualty figures. “It is basically the stilted speed of a garden snail what we are seeing in Ukraine,” he said. “Staggering losses, tens of thousands a month. 35,000 deaths in December, 30,000 deaths in January.”

He argued that Ukraine was making effective use of Western support, reinforcing the case for sustaining military assistance. “We have to keep Ukraine strong, because what we see is that they make the best use of our support,” he said.

Responding to questions about whether Europe could become militarily independent from the United States, Rutte said NATO’s core strength remained the transatlantic partnership, while acknowledging that allies were moving toward a more European-led model. “I think we all agree in NATO that we should stick together, the US and European and Canadian NATO,” he said. “But having said that, we also all agree that NATO should be more European-led.”

He cited Germany’s increased spending and deployments, alongside European purchases of US equipment for Ukraine, as evidence of that shift.

“We have seen, for example, Germany doubling his defence spending… A clear example of Europe stepping up,” he said, adding that Europe’s expanded role would develop gradually. “We will do this step-by-step, in close conjunction with United States, based on the defence planning process we have.”

Rutte also addressed a question on the reported deployment of Russian ballistic missile systems in Belarus, using it to reiterate the urgency of providing Ukraine with interceptors and counter-drone capabilities. “This is reason why I’m saying here today and tomorrow… we need to do even more,” he said. “Because when it comes to the interceptors to take out missiles… we need the counter drone technology.”

He said NATO allies should also expand cooperation with Ukraine’s defence industrial base, while continuing to rely on US-produced systems purchased through multinational funding mechanisms. “Making use of this essential gear coming out of the US, including, of course, PURL… which only the US can provide, paid for by Allies and partners,” he added.