January 28, 2026 5:44PM # Yes, Europe Can Protect Itself Without the US 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... ![europe map](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2025-03/europe%20map%203.jpg?itok=Y0BT3mVm) Earlier this week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte commented to the European Parliament’s defense and foreign affairs committees that Europe is unable to defend itself without the United States, and that supporters of such an idea should “[keep on dreaming](https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-defense-nato-mark-rutte-us-politics-threats-gdp/).” For someone who called President Trump “[daddy](https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/nato-chief-calls-trump-daddy-00423485),” such perceived dependence upon the United States is to be expected. But the only one dreaming is Rutte. If he thinks the United States will or can sustain troops in Europe indefinitely, then he is sorely mistaken. The United States is incapable of sustaining troops in Europe with its worsening domestic fiscal situation and the rise of China. Instead, Finnish President Alexander Stubb was correct to allege that Europe can “[unequivocally](https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/greenland-trump-tariffs-trade-eu/card/finnish-president-says-europe-can-defend-itself-without-u-s--Ogd9oWKwzbgUTyYtMim0?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqcOo5vaPUzk2K316qKnIlmnZNOEM03i0iReX5FzVQJqwynGAwqWXMy_&gaa_ts=697a555e&gaa_sig=GrMdhO3j89CGmo1C5D56mSVY8zCw1dZ8VdVD5c8YQu296lGX_LNURtADcdp-MmDyQQTLP7SpC5ltW3T6WXRN1g%3D%3D)” protect itself. Europe [can and must defend itself](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/their-own-two-feet) without the United States. It should begin preparing for a world without US protection before it’s too late. Compared to Russia, allied European nations have much [larger GDPs](https://www.statista.com/statistics/268173/countries-with-the-largest-gross-domestic-product-gdp/#:~:text=Table_title:%20Countries%20with%20the%20largest%20gross%20domestic,in%20trillion%20USD%20(current%20prices):%202.28%20%7C) and economies, allowing them to invest in greater and higher-quality weapons and defense industrial bases. Allied European countries also possess [comparable](https://www.iiss.org/publications/the-military-balance/) troop numbers, population sizes, and military equipment quantities to Russia’s. Moreover, Russia’s lackluster performance fighting Ukraine shows that it is much weaker than the Soviet Union ever was during the Cold War, making Europe’s ability to deter Russian aggression that much easier. Putin’s Russia can be countered and deterred, and Europe can do it without the United States. European nations enjoy several options for deploying these military capabilities to deter Russia. They must simply act. ##### 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/).