October 21, 2026 1:19PM # Let’s Talk About Europe By [Benjamin Giltner](https://www.cato.org/people/benjamin-giltner) --- SHARE Listen to this article Generated with [ ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io/) AI technology. Loading the [Elevenlabs Text to Speech](https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech) AudioNative Player... More people continue to [write](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/europe/europes-credibility-gap) of the need for Europe to become less dependent upon the United States for security, to provide for its own defense: > “The weaker the transatlantic relationship becomes, the more Europe needs other countries’ export markets, raw materials, defense industrial capacity, and solidarity against coercion—and the less able it is to convince those countries of its worth as a partner. Europe needs a better offer, grounded in its own capabilities rather than those of its mercurial ally.” And [it should](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/their-own-two-feet). Europe has the wherewithal to do so. Russia is not the ten-foot-tall bear it was during the 20th century. But it remains a real threat to Eastern Europe with the Putin government’s [revisionist agenda](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/japanese-journal-of-political-science/article/abs/from-status-inconsistency-to-revisionism-russian-foreign-policy-after-color-revolutions/7C2738C42ED4E088C2083D22BE0331FC). NATO and Europe must pursue a course between Cold War 2.0 and appeasement. The countries are strong enough to deter Russia from its revisionist aims without being as strong as the United States to trigger a security spiral. Indeed, Europe will have to negotiate between Ukraine and Russia to create a stable continental system in which both sides feel they can avoid future [challenges to their reputations and security](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022002716652687). This may include [neutral and armed powers](https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/snapback-solution-ukraine) or [buffer states](https://academic.oup.com/book/48013) within continental Europe. Negotiating is different from surrendering, which NATO and Europe won’t do. Importantly, having Europe provide for its own defense would help the United States, which spends over [$1 trillion annually](https://www.pogo.org/reports/the-true-total-u-s-military-budget) on defense. Faced with a rising China and a [fiscal crisis](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=CAESfQHrOzAVsPbXRCCcm553XOzCkIZcVhOvMjN3C-OKOwkC-aLIcidl1H5oui7mKdEXX7tGCfHmeFO29jRMLBh4R7nSN0xtqW0cCIjh7WM_K4dKXwS_SiuU7YmxtILfvt2wF8TDeDK4JYBfla6VLtZBy3vsaPjoYXJzRT0TCPAo&ved=2ahUKEwimgYeow8uXAxXrKVkFHUwANREQFnoECEsQAQ&uoh=2&usg=AOvVaw3_QSBtJrsEk_clm-Y21Bev), the United States must decide where to cut defense spending. Making this cut in Europe is both feasible and desirable. Hopefully, more will continue to write about European defense autonomy. Having a strong and independent Europe will create a more secure and stable world. ##### Related Tags [Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).