NATO and European Defence during the Trump Administration: A Stocktaking

Donald Trump’s administration has approached NATO with two key priorities: increasing defence spending among member states, and decoupling the fate of Ukraine from that of the Atlantic Alliance by pursuing a settlement with Russia to end the conflict. Meanwhile, Moscow continues its war of aggression, aimed not only at occupying the neighbouring country but at altering the European security architecture to the detriment of both NATO and the European Union. The combination of these two elements – the Russian threat in the east and the shift in American strategic posture in the west – has led European countries to take unprecedented decisions regarding investment in their own armed forces also by using EU financial toolbox. However, there are no real plans for a European defence, either militarily or politically, and NATO remains the best available framework for the deterrence and defence of Europe vis-à-vis the Russian threat through a stronger European leadership in the Alliance.

Translation of a paper published in Focus euroatlantico, No. 8 (February-May 2025).