That means a “NATO 3.0,” he said, where Europeans pay more for their own defense and slim NATO’s activities down to its core task of defending alliance territory.
The term won immediate praise from some allies. NATO 3.0 is “a good way to explain his point, which we totally agree on,” Norwegian Defense Minister Tore Sandvik told POLITICO.
“We know the Americans, they need to be more present in the Pacific — and that is changing NATO as well,” he said. “We in Europe haven’t done enough.”
More broadly, Colby’s remarks prompted relief from European allies, some of whom had privately worried the U.S. envoy would use the opportunity to lash out at them.
The comments mark a stark contrast to recent NATO summits, where American officials like Hegseth admonished Europe for not paying their fair share for defense and for trying to limit purchases of U.S. weapons.
Colby’s address was “relatively positive and tempered,” said one NATO diplomat, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. It felt like “the calm after the storm,” a second NATO diplomat added.
For his part, Rutte downplayed criticism that the row over Greenland had damaged the alliance. “You will always have debates and discussions within NATO,” he said. “I can assure you, it will be very boring if it wasn’t the case.”