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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Delivers Remarks to NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels
Jun 18, 2026
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a new review of America's troop deployments in
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Europe and threatened to withhold some U.S. dues to NATO if some allies did not meet defense
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spending commitments. Hegseth, addressing defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, said the U.S. review would last up to six months and include consultations with Congress
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which has legislated a minimum number of American forces in Europe. While he did not explicitly say the review could result in reductions in U.S. force deployments in Europe
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he stressed the goal would be to prompt the continent to do more, while ensuring the U.S. military would be able to meet its global commitments
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For too long, NATO has been a paper tiger and a one-way street
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No more. And that's what the Hague summit is all about. That's what defense spending commitments are all about
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transforming NATO back into a real military alliance that's focused on hard power and real deterrence, a NATO 3.0
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Europe was not supposed to be a dependency of the United States
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That's not what Winston Churchill or Charles de Gaulle or Conrad Adenauer wanted or expected
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No, Europe was supposed to be a military power allied with a strong America
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NATO's power did not come from committees or from meetings or from small flags on fancy tables
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It came from warriors. And for Europe's defense, it had come from NATO allies
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That was NATO 1.0, a hard-edged warfighting organization focused on Europe's defense
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But that spirit faded after the Cold War ended. I announcing today a six Department of War review that will examine America force posture and basing in Europe Up to six months could be less Let call it the NATO 3 review This review will be
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conducted with the benefit of inputs from the United States military, from European command
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It will involve consultations with the U.S. Congress and with our allies. It's a review that
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some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colors. In the end, the review is
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intended to both improve U.S. force posture and basing and strengthen NATO 3.0. Meanwhile
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NATO officials said countries across the alliance agreed to find new ways to increase their defense
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spending as the U.S. reassesses its posture in Europe. Cash is crucial, but you cannot stop a
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missile or a tank with a dollar or a euro. We need to turn the cash into combat-ready
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capabilities and fast. This is our shared priority for the Ankara summit and the years
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ahead. We need more forces, we need more resources and a strong industrial base. So today
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Defence Minister has agreed on a renewed push to turbocharge Transatlantic Defence Corporation
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We want to scale up our defense industries on both sides of the Atlantic, while fostering the kind of cooperation that leads to better innovation as well as more production
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Secretary Hackshed was very clear about the need for a NATO 3.0, an alliance rebooted for the modern age
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On that we all agree. We heard the U.S. announcement to review force posture in Europe
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In today's dynamic security environment, I think it is prudent to ensure NATO's forces are optimally arrayed to deter conflict and, if necessary, to defend against any threat
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