Pistorius urges Europe to shoulder security burden amid NATO tension
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (Photo: REUTERS/Annegret Hilse)
Europe must take greater responsibility for its own
security, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the Munich Security
Conference, according to DW
on Feb. 14.
In his remarks, Pistorius criticized the administration of
U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing Washington of actions that harm NATO and
weaken the Alliance’s unity. He called dangerous both U.S. statements about
potential claims to Greenland and efforts to negotiate an end to the war in
Ukraine without European partners. Such steps, he emphasized, undermine trust
within the Alliance and play into the hands of its adversaries.
At the same time, he said meetings with partners in recent
days had given him a “sense of realistic, pragmatic and sober optimism.”
“Europe must take greater responsibility for its own
security, while the United States will continue to provide strategic and
nuclear support for the foreseeable future,” Pistorius stressed.
According to him, NATO “is becoming more European in order
to remain transatlantic.”
“Even the United States cannot act alone, it needs allies.
Their presence within NATO makes the United States stronger than other global
powers,” he said.
On Feb. 13, The Times reported that former U.S. ambassadors
to NATO and former supreme allied commanders warned President Donald Trump
against withdrawing from the Alliance or weakening it.
In a statement published ahead of the Munich Security
Conference, 16 former senior officials said NATO is vital to U.S. national
security.
Without the Alliance, they said, the United States risks
increasing its costs and reducing its influence, weakening the legitimacy of
American operations.
The officials stressed that a strong NATO strengthens
deterrence and helps the United States guarantee global security.
In March 2025, U.S. media reported that Donald Trump was
considering changing the country’s participation in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
For his part, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called
reports of a possible U.S. withdrawal from NATO “hysteria.” He said the
Alliance had “unknowingly been moving toward irrelevance.”
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