European nations plan to replace US in NATO by 2035 – FT

Europe’s NATO members are drawing up a plan to gradually replace the US as their key defense guarantor over the next five to ten years, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources.

The UK, France, Germany, and the Nordic nations are in talks about a potential proposal that would relocate the bloc’s financial burden back to Europe, four unnamed officials told the Financial Times.

The plan’s backers aim to present it to the US before NATO’s annual summit in The Hague this June, according to the report.

European NATO members fear that the US, under President Donald Trump, could renege on its defense commitments or leave the bloc altogether. While the talks are reportedly being framed as offering a managed, long-term transition, European officials have admitted to the FT that the timeline of five to ten years seems extremely ambitious…