US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a sweeping six-month Pentagon review of American forces stationed in Europe at a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on June 18. Hegseth called for a fundamental transformation he dubbed NATO 3.0, in which European nations would take primary responsibility for their own continental defense rather than relying on the United States military umbrella.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the alliance. Hegseth lambasted European allies for what he described as a shameful failure to provide US forces access to European bases during the recent conflict with Iran. He accused European nations of prioritizing gender equity, climate change, and defense austerity over military readiness, saying that borders had flown wide open while defense budgets cratered during years of complacency.
The review comes at a particularly sensitive moment for transatlantic relations. NATO's supreme allied commander is already working on contingency backup plans after the United States signaled on June 3 that it would no longer supply an aircraft carrier, aerial refueling planes, and dozens of fighter jets to the alliance during a crisis. The withdrawal of these commitments represents a dramatic shift in the security architecture that has underpinned European defense for decades.
European defense ministers responded with a mixture of concern and defiance. Several leaders acknowledged that European nations need to invest more heavily in their own military capabilities, while others cautioned that abruptly withdrawing American support could create dangerous security vacuums. France and Germany have already begun accelerating joint defense initiatives, and the European Union is exploring new collective procurement mechanisms.
Hegseth emphasized that the outcome of the six-month review will depend entirely on how quickly and decisively European allies take responsibility for their own security. He outlined a vision in which the United States would maintain a strategic partnership with NATO but shift its primary military focus toward the Indo-Pacific region, where tensions with China continue to escalate.
Defense analysts note that the shift reflects a broader realignment of American foreign policy priorities that has been building across multiple administrations. The war in Ukraine initially prompted European nations to boost defense spending, but many have fallen short of their pledges. With Washington now explicitly conditioning its commitment on European burden-sharing, the pressure on allied governments to deliver concrete military improvements has never been greater.
The NATO meeting concluded with a communique acknowledging the need for accelerated European defense investment, though specific timelines and commitments remain subject to ongoing negotiations. The coming six months will test whether the alliance can adapt to this new reality or whether the transatlantic security partnership will undergo a fundamental and potentially irreversible transformation.
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