President Trump’s main military strategist has called for a Nato “based on partnership rather than dependency”, in which European countries, Britain and Canada will be expected to accelerate their commitments to increase defence budgets.
Before a meeting of alliance defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday, Elbridge Colby, 46, argued for a reformed “Nato 3.0” that was closer to its original Cold-War era iteration, rather than a group mainly underwritten by US military power.
“In 2025, we saw a genuine commitment to have Europe lead the conventional defence of Nato,” he said. “Now it’s time to march out together, to be pragmatic, we have a really strong basis for working together in partnership, for a Nato based on partnership rather than dependency. Really, a return to what Nato originally was intended for.”
