The United States has informed European allies that it expects them to assume the majority of NATO’s conventional defense responsibilities by 2027, a timeline that several European officials say is not achievable, according to five people familiar with the discussions who spoke to Reuters.
Pentagon officials delivered the message during meetings in Washington with multiple European delegations, stressing that Europe’s progress on strengthening defense capabilities since Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has not met U.S. expectations. According to the sources, the U.S. delegation warned that failure to meet the 2027 goal could prompt Washington to pull back from certain NATO defense coordination mechanisms, a possibility that raised concerns among diplomats and some members of Congress.
Those familiar with the talks told Reuters that the United States did not clarify how it would evaluate Europe’s progress. Conventional defense capabilities cover a wide spectrum of non-nuclear assets, from troops and intelligence operations to air defense systems and missile programs. It also remains unclear whether the 2027 target reflects the broader stance of the Trump administration or only that of specific Pentagon officials, as disagreements in Washington persist over America’s military role in Europe.
European officials said the deadline is unrealistic, citing structural hurdles that go beyond spending levels. Many NATO members face delayed delivery timelines for equipment they have already ordered, including advanced U.S.-made systems that could take years to arrive. They also noted that some of the United States’ most critical contributions—such as specialized intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities—cannot simply be purchased or substituted in the short term.
A NATO official told Reuters that European allies have begun taking more responsibility for the continent’s security but did not address the 2027 benchmark. European Union leaders have already set a separate goal of being ready to defend the continent by 2030, an objective analysts say is itself highly ambitious given gaps in air defenses, drones, cyber capabilities and munitions supplies.
The debate unfolds against a backdrop of fluctuating U.S. attitudes toward NATO. President Donald Trump has long argued that Europe must shoulder more of its own defense burden, even suggesting during the 2024 campaign that he would encourage Russia to target allies failing to meet spending commitments. Yet at the NATO summit in June, he praised European leaders after they agreed to increase the alliance’s defense spending target to 5% of GDP. Recent months, however, have seen shifting U.S. signals on Russia and limited European involvement in Washington’s discussions regarding potential negotiations on the Ukraine conflict.
In parallel to the defense burden-sharing dispute, the Group of Seven countries and the European Union are considering a major overhaul of sanctions on Russian oil exports, Reuters learned from six sources familiar with the talks. The proposal would replace the existing price cap system with a comprehensive ban on Western maritime services for Russian oil shipments. Such a measure would cut off the use of Western tankers and shipping services that still carry more than a third of Russia’s oil, mostly to India and China.
Russia sends the remainder of its oil through a large shadow fleet of older vessels operating without Western insurance or oversight. If the G7 and EU impose the maritime services ban, Russia would need to significantly expand this fleet, which analysts say is already stretched and opaque in ownership.
Three sources said the ban could be included in the EU’s next sanctions package expected in early 2026, although the bloc wants to coordinate closely with the G7 before formally proposing it. British and American officials have been advancing the idea in technical G7 discussions, although final U.S. support will depend on the Trump administration’s broader negotiating strategy regarding the Ukraine war, according to four sources.
The price cap—introduced in 2022 to restrict Russia’s oil revenue while maintaining global supply—has been increasingly circumvented. Russia has rerouted much of its crude to Asia using its own sanctioned or unsanctioned shadow-fleet tankers. Research from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air shows that in October, 44% of Russia’s oil exports moved on sanctioned shadow-fleet vessels, 18% on non-sanctioned shadow-fleet ships, and 38% on tankers connected to operators in G7 and EU countries as well as Australia.
Maritime intelligence data reviewed by Reuters indicates that 1,423 tankers are involved in transporting sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela, with 921 already under U.S., UK or EU sanctions.
