Feb 12, 2026, 2:07 p.mFeb 12, 2026, 2:07 p.m
At a NATO meeting in Brussels, the US government of President Donald Trump expressed satisfaction with the Europeans’ efforts to share the burden more fairly in defense matters.
In 2025, a readjustment was seen and the Europeans were committed to taking the lead in conventional defense, explained US Secretary of State Elbridge Colby at the headquarters of the military alliance.
US Secretary of State Elbridge Colby (l.) at the NATO meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte (r.).Image: keystone
In his opinion, we now have “a very strong basis for working together in partnership – with a NATO 3.0 that is based on partnership instead of dependence.” It’s about a return to what NATO was originally intended for. This is defense and deterrence, said Colby, who traveled to Brussels on behalf of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Rutte praises Germany
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was also satisfied at the meeting. He specifically referred to the German government’s planned increase in defense spending. These are expected to rise to almost 153 billion euros by 2029 and would then be almost three times as high as in 2021. Given the fact that the USA will have to pay more attention to the situation in the Pacific in the future, it is crucial that Europe and Canada take on more responsibility, emphasized Rutte.
In NATO, the developments are fueling hopes that the dispute over burden sharing in the alliance could be history. Trump even threatened to leave NATO at times. Since NATO’s deterrence is based largely on the military capabilities of the USA, this would threaten its existence. (hkl/sda/dpa)