U.S. Department of Defense Undersecretary for Policy Elbridge Colby has called for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to be based on a what he called "NATO 3.0" featuring "partnerships, not dependencies," saying Europe must assume primary responsibility for their own conventional defense.
"I think we have a really strong basis for working together in partnership but putting NATO, kind of a 3.0 NATO that's based on partnership rather than dependency and really return to what NATO was originally intended for," he told the NATO defense ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Addressing the meeting, Colby said that "NATO 2.0" is no longer fit for purpose and added that the European allies in NATO must become part of "NATO 3.0," stepping up and assuming primary responsibility for the conventional defense of the continent.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called on European nations to increase their military spending, said that he was doubting whether NATO would come to U.S. defense when it is needed. He also urged European members of NATO to take more responsibility for their own security and reduce their reliance on the U.S.
Last year, NATO member states committed to investing 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) in defense and security by 2035. But analysts said that it was impossible both politically and economically for some NATO members to meet this target.
The latest controversy between the U.S. and Europe intensified when Trump said military action could be an option in his bid to acquire Greenland, a largely Arctic island and self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
While Trump later claimed to have secured the framework of a deal with NATO regarding Greenland's future, his threats and aggressive rhetoric prompted European leaders to denounce any military aggression on Greenland as "neo-colonialism."
U.S. defense official calls for "NATO 3.0"
