Rubio arrives in Brussels for NATO talks amid unease over Trump’s agenda

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker arrived successful Brussels Thursday for talks that allies anticipation volition shed airy connected the U.S.’ aboriginal plans successful Europe. 

Rubio’s accomplishment comes arsenic European allies and Canada are acrophobic astir President Donald Trump's readiness to gully person to Russian person Vladimir Putin, who sees NATO arsenic a threat. Recent White House comments and insults directed astatine NATO allies – arsenic good arsenic the subject confederation itself – person raised alarm and confusion. 

Matters person been made much uncertain by Trump's caller tariffs targeting U.S. friends and foes alike. The time anterior to Rubio’s arrival, Trump issued an enforcement order, establishing a minimum baseline tariff of 10% connected each imports.

Since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned past period that U.S. information priorities prevarication elsewhere — successful Asia and connected the U.S.'s ain borders — Europeans person waited to larn however large a subject drawdown successful Europe could beryllium and however accelerated it whitethorn happen.

TRUMP EFFECT FORCES GERMANY TO REPRIORITIZE DEFENSE AS NATION PLAYS CATCH-UP IN MILITARY SPENDING

Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards his level astatine Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, connected Wednesday, April 2, 2025, en way to NATO successful Belgium. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

In Europe and Canada, governments are moving connected "burden shifting" plans to instrumentality implicit much of the load, portion trying to guarantee that nary information vacuum is created if U.S. troops and instrumentality are withdrawn from the continent.

These allies are keen to perceive from Rubio what the Trump administration's intentions are and anticipation to unafraid immoderate benignant of roadmap that lays retired what volition hap adjacent and when, truthful they tin synchronize readying and usage European forces to plug immoderate gaps.

Banners extracurricular of NATO office successful Brussels, Belgium.  (Reuters/Yves Herman)

Newly confirmed U.S. ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said the confederation "will beryllium stronger and much effectual than ever before" nether Trump’s leadership.

"I judge that a robust NATO tin proceed to service arsenic a bedrock of bid and prosperity," Whitaker said successful a statement, adding: "NATO's vitality rests connected each state doing their just share."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds his closing property league astatine the extremity of defence ministers' meetings astatine NATO office connected Feb. 13, 2025, successful Brussels, Belgium. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)

Whitaker affirmed the U.S. committedness to NATO's corporate information guarantee, which says that an onslaught connected immoderate state indispensable beryllium considered an onslaught connected them all, but that his little would besides beryllium to promote Europe to pb connected "peace, security, and the rebuilding of Ukraine."

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Whitaker besides said that allies should show that NATO takes threats from China seriously.