BRUSSELS

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Tuesday that the US remains fully committed to the transatlantic alliance, but Washington expects Europe and Canada to take far greater responsibility for their own security.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament, Rutte argued that the era where Europeans could rely on the US to carry the main security burden was over.

"The US is absolutely committed to NATO, but this commitment comes with a clear and long-standing expectation that Europe and Canada take more responsibility for their own security, and I believe that is only fair," he said.

Rutte warned that Europe is facing a lasting and structural security threat. "We need to be honest, the dangers we face are real and the dangers we face are lasting. Russia remains our most significant threat,” he said.
And there's no reason to believe Russia's pattern of aggressive and reckless actions will change anytime soon."

On tensions between the US and Europe about Greenland, Rutte avoided direct comment but said there is no disagreement within NATO about the need to protect the Arctic, where Russia and China are becoming "increasingly active" as new sea lanes open.

"When it comes to the Arctic region, we have to work together as an alliance. That's exactly what we are doing," he said.

No alternative to NATO

Responding to demands from some European lawmakers for a fully-fledged European army, Rutte warned that duplicating NATO’s command structures would weaken, not strengthen, Europe’s security.

NATO already struggles to fill senior military positions, he said, and creating parallel EU structures would add complexity and delay at a time when Russia is moving fast.

"The Russians will love it, because it is more complexity on our side, more time to debate, more discussions, while they try to attack us," he added.

Instead, Rutte said Europe should build a stronger European pillar inside NATO, while working closely with the EU on defense production, innovation and financing.

On Iran, he said the current situation was "repellent," adding, "I can assure you that NATO allies are day in, day out, navigating this crisis, in constant touch on this but I think we can all agree that we wish the best for Iran and particularly not for the leadership, but for the Iranian people."