Rutte Stands Alone in the 'New NATO'
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte aims to demonstrate to Donald Trump during their Thursday meeting that both he and the nearly eight-decade partnership continue to hold significance.
TroibNews 
NATO chief Mark Rutte, who leads the world's foremost military alliance, is currently finding himself in a less influential position.
France and the United Kingdom are directly approaching President Donald Trump to negotiate defense arrangements. These nations, alongside Poland, Germany, and Italy, are establishing distinct power blocs to manage the decreasing support from the United States for Ukraine.
As a result, Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister who is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Thursday, faces the challenge of demonstrating that he—and the nearly eight-decade-long partnership—remain relevant for the future of the alliance.
“The real challenge for him now is to become that Trump whisperer and make sure that President Trump and America stay involved in NATO,” noted Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chair of the National Security and Defense Committee in Lithuania's parliament and a former NATO official. “That’s his key job now.”
In the context of Trump’s world order, financial considerations take precedence. NATO depends on its member states for funding and military support. European nations are increasingly recognizing Trump’s transactional approach, opting to bypass Rutte, who was once viewed as a charm offensive ally, and go directly to the commander-in-chief.
Consequently, Rutte is also joining this approach.
While he meets with Trump, he is also working to ensure that the alliance can operate independently of Washington—or potentially in collaboration with an administration more sympathetic to Moscow than to Brussels.
“The alliance won’t die,” stated a NATO official, “it will just morph into something else.”
This official, along with others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to address sensitive matters surrounding the alliance.
Neither Rutte, NATO, nor the White House have provided comments on this situation.
As Rutte engages with Trump, diplomats and NATO generals are convening in Paris for a series of emergency meetings on Ukraine, taking place outside the official framework of the alliance. Additionally, defense chiefs from the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Poland are independently meeting, forming a strong bloc that excludes the U.S.
“It’s a harbinger of this new NATO,” stated Stefano Stefanini, a former Italian NATO ambassador. “Mark Rutte’s unenviable task, that none of his predecessors has faced, will be to pull it off.”
Historically, NATO has adapted to fit the geopolitical landscape it faces. In the wake of the Cold War, skepticism arose about the alliance’s relevance, prompting NATO to undertake new missions, such as ensuring no-fly zones in Bosnia and Libya, supporting the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan, and advising Iraqi forces in Baghdad.
Following the Russian annexation of Crimea and aggression in Donbas in 2014, NATO encouraged members to allocate 2 percent of their GDP toward defense. When Russia escalated its invasion in 2022, NATO began formulating strategies to secure every region of Europe against potential attacks from Moscow.
Nevertheless, NATO has never grappled with a shift in global alliances of this magnitude.
“The Trump administration is very transactional, so we’re working on forging a relationship on those terms,” commented a defense official from a NATO country, who recently visited Washington for discussions. "We're staying in very close touch to ensure they know our plans and our needs and how this fits into the relationship."
Questions surrounding Rutte's role arise as the Pentagon assesses its global troop distribution, with Europe being a potential area for reductions.
European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have openly suggested the possibility of a nuclear defense system on the continent that would exclude U.S. involvement. NATO is currently revising its defense strategies to lessen reliance on U.S. military assets for European defense.
However, the absence of the 84,000 U.S. troops stationed in Europe—which has increased significantly since the onset of the Ukraine conflict—would impede the continent's ability to defend itself against Russian aggression.
The subgroup meetings occurring in Paris, which Rutte is not attending, have been described by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot as “almost as important as the preparatory meetings for the creation of NATO in 1949.” He emphasized, “Even if it's not a question of recreating NATO, there are the seeds of a genuine” transformation for the alliance.
The operational core of NATO's military capabilities relies heavily on U.S.-led commands located in Mons, Belgium; Naples, Italy; and Norfolk, Virginia, the largest naval base in the world.
These commands not only supply military force but also provide essential logistics and communication infrastructure critical to the alliance's large-scale exercises and deployments. This heavy dependence on the U.S. for basic European defense complicates Rutte's position.
“He's in an unenviable position,” remarked Giuseppe Spatafora, a former NATO official who now serves as a research analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies in Brussels. “He needs to say that transatlantic relations are strong when they aren't... He probably needs to tell Trump that NATO is lost without him and keep him happy while also showing that allies are spending on defense and purchasing U.S. weapons.”
Yet, some observers note a strategic rationale behind Rutte's diminished visibility.
“It’s in the DNA of the organization not to create waves,” suggested a former NATO official. “You kind of want an organization that doesn’t become too loud or get involved in the day-to-day political whiplash."
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
France and the United Kingdom are directly approaching President Donald Trump to negotiate defense arrangements. These nations, alongside Poland, Germany, and Italy, are establishing distinct power blocs to manage the decreasing support from the United States for Ukraine.
As a result, Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister who is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on Thursday, faces the challenge of demonstrating that he—and the nearly eight-decade-long partnership—remain relevant for the future of the alliance.
“The real challenge for him now is to become that Trump whisperer and make sure that President Trump and America stay involved in NATO,” noted Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chair of the National Security and Defense Committee in Lithuania's parliament and a former NATO official. “That’s his key job now.”
In the context of Trump’s world order, financial considerations take precedence. NATO depends on its member states for funding and military support. European nations are increasingly recognizing Trump’s transactional approach, opting to bypass Rutte, who was once viewed as a charm offensive ally, and go directly to the commander-in-chief.
Consequently, Rutte is also joining this approach.
While he meets with Trump, he is also working to ensure that the alliance can operate independently of Washington—or potentially in collaboration with an administration more sympathetic to Moscow than to Brussels.
“The alliance won’t die,” stated a NATO official, “it will just morph into something else.”
This official, along with others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to address sensitive matters surrounding the alliance.
Neither Rutte, NATO, nor the White House have provided comments on this situation.
As Rutte engages with Trump, diplomats and NATO generals are convening in Paris for a series of emergency meetings on Ukraine, taking place outside the official framework of the alliance. Additionally, defense chiefs from the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Poland are independently meeting, forming a strong bloc that excludes the U.S.
“It’s a harbinger of this new NATO,” stated Stefano Stefanini, a former Italian NATO ambassador. “Mark Rutte’s unenviable task, that none of his predecessors has faced, will be to pull it off.”
Historically, NATO has adapted to fit the geopolitical landscape it faces. In the wake of the Cold War, skepticism arose about the alliance’s relevance, prompting NATO to undertake new missions, such as ensuring no-fly zones in Bosnia and Libya, supporting the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan, and advising Iraqi forces in Baghdad.
Following the Russian annexation of Crimea and aggression in Donbas in 2014, NATO encouraged members to allocate 2 percent of their GDP toward defense. When Russia escalated its invasion in 2022, NATO began formulating strategies to secure every region of Europe against potential attacks from Moscow.
Nevertheless, NATO has never grappled with a shift in global alliances of this magnitude.
“The Trump administration is very transactional, so we’re working on forging a relationship on those terms,” commented a defense official from a NATO country, who recently visited Washington for discussions. "We're staying in very close touch to ensure they know our plans and our needs and how this fits into the relationship."
Questions surrounding Rutte's role arise as the Pentagon assesses its global troop distribution, with Europe being a potential area for reductions.
European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have openly suggested the possibility of a nuclear defense system on the continent that would exclude U.S. involvement. NATO is currently revising its defense strategies to lessen reliance on U.S. military assets for European defense.
However, the absence of the 84,000 U.S. troops stationed in Europe—which has increased significantly since the onset of the Ukraine conflict—would impede the continent's ability to defend itself against Russian aggression.
The subgroup meetings occurring in Paris, which Rutte is not attending, have been described by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot as “almost as important as the preparatory meetings for the creation of NATO in 1949.” He emphasized, “Even if it's not a question of recreating NATO, there are the seeds of a genuine” transformation for the alliance.
The operational core of NATO's military capabilities relies heavily on U.S.-led commands located in Mons, Belgium; Naples, Italy; and Norfolk, Virginia, the largest naval base in the world.
These commands not only supply military force but also provide essential logistics and communication infrastructure critical to the alliance's large-scale exercises and deployments. This heavy dependence on the U.S. for basic European defense complicates Rutte's position.
“He's in an unenviable position,” remarked Giuseppe Spatafora, a former NATO official who now serves as a research analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies in Brussels. “He needs to say that transatlantic relations are strong when they aren't... He probably needs to tell Trump that NATO is lost without him and keep him happy while also showing that allies are spending on defense and purchasing U.S. weapons.”
Yet, some observers note a strategic rationale behind Rutte's diminished visibility.
“It’s in the DNA of the organization not to create waves,” suggested a former NATO official. “You kind of want an organization that doesn’t become too loud or get involved in the day-to-day political whiplash."
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
