Europeans are to take a greater role in NATO's leadership functions. At the same time, US weapons, intelligence and logistics are to be supplemented to a greater extent by European ones, according to the American newspaper's sources.
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) confirms that it concerns increased European responsibility within the defense alliance.
"Adjusted burden sharing"
"It is a step in the work of ensuring an adjusted burden sharing within NATO," she writes in a comment to TT, adding that the allies have agreed jointly on the distribution.
Informal talks are underway and plans have become more concrete since Germany changed its position on how dependent European NATO countries should be on the United States. The German government is said to have changed its mind after US President Donald Trump threatened to take over Greenland, stop supporting Ukraine and leave NATO altogether.
This is described as a broader consensus that has emerged after Germany's shift, including among the Nordic countries.
"We are taking preventive measures and holding informal talks with groups of like-minded allies, and will help fill gaps within NATO when necessary," Sweden's Ambassador to Germany Veronika Wand-Danielsson told WSJ.
General conscription
Secretary General Mark Rutte and several leaders openly emphasize that the European commitment needs to be much greater. There is also talk that more countries need to reintroduce universal conscription, which has been highlighted by, among others, the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb.
Two major potential obstacles to a more European NATO are noted: firstly, that the United States has exclusive rights to the position of supreme operational commander in Europe, and secondly, that the European nuclear powers are currently not considered able to establish an equally comprehensive "umbrella" for deterrence.
