MEP Henrik Dahl has defended NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s comments this week regarding the EU’s reliance on the US to defend itself.
In an opinion article for Euronews, the Danish European lawmaker agrees with the NATO secretary general that Europe currently lacks key military capabilities, particularly in independent command, intelligence, and digital infrastructure, most of which are still provided by the US.
“As of today, the European pillar of NATO cannot function as a fully autonomous deterrent force without the United States,” Dahl wrote.
“Europe lacks a genuinely independent strategic command structure capable of planning and executing large-scale, high-intensity operations without US participation. NATO’s integrated command system is, in practice, deeply American in its architecture.”
Dahl also argues that moral posturing and wounded pride are not substitutes for material capabilities. Therefore, the EU should not criticise Rutte for describing the present reality and the problems surrounding Europe’s defence.
“The reaction was predictable. A mixture of irritation, wounded pride, and moral posturing followed. But this is precisely the wrong response. When the diagnosis is correct, indignation is not a substitute for treatment,” he said.
However, the Danish MEP does not share the NATO chief’s idea that independence from US security is a “dream.”
In fact, Henrik Dahl believes that, with the appropriate focus, Europe can build a resilient and autonomous defence strategy.
“Europe will not become stronger by wishing for autonomy. It will become stronger by understanding what autonomy actually costs, how long it takes, and why pretending otherwise is the surest way not to get there,” he said.
Facing a backlash
Rutte was facing a backlash earlier this week after saying that the European Union should “keep on dreaming” about becoming independent from the United States, its largest ally, in matters related to security and defence.
His comments came on the heels of US President Donald Trump’s attempt to seize Greenland from Denmark through punitive measures, an unprecedented dispute that brought the nearly 80-year-old transatlantic alliance to the brink of collapse.
The tensions were defused by a deal on Arctic security brokered by Rutte.
“When President Trump is doing good stuff, I will praise him, and I don’t mind him publishing text messages,” Rutte told members of the European Parliament on Monday afternoon, referring to Trump’s leaking of the two men’s personal communications.
“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. We can’t. We need each other.”
Rutte argued that European nations would have to spend 10% of their GDP, rather than 5% as under the current goal, to make up for the loss of Washington’s backing.
“You’d have to build up your own nuclear capability. That costs billions and billions of euros,” he said. “In that scenario, you would lose the ultimate guarantor of our freedom, which is the US nuclear umbrella. So, hey, good luck!”
Rutte’s intervention at the Parliament quickly attracted interest on social media, where clips were widely shared by users and picked over by analysts.
The fiercest backlash against Rutte came from France, a vocal advocate of the concept of “strategic autonomy” and the “Made in Europe” preference for public tenders.
“No, dear Mark Rutte. Europeans can and must take charge of their own security. Even the United States agrees. It is the European pillar of NATO,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on his X account.
Benjamin Haddad, France’s deputy minister for European affairs, echoed the message, pointing to the fact that Europe, not the US, is the largest donor to Ukraine.
“We have to go much further (on defence). We have no other choice. We see a world that is becoming more brutal, more violent. We see threats coming from American allies against the sovereignty of Denmark,” Haddad said in an interview with DW.
You can read the full op-ed on the Euroviews section of the Euronews website or by clicking the link here.