MUNICH, Feb 13: The NATO alliance will become more European-led, with a continuing strong presence of the United States, as European allies significantly increase military spending, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Friday.

“Over the coming years we will more and more sea a NATO that is more European-led, but at the same time with the US absolutely anchored in the organization,” Rutte told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

“We will do this step by step, in close conjunction with the United States, based on the defense planning process we have.”

European leaders strove to shore up relations with the United States and insisted they were strengthening their defences as they gathered for a security conference on Friday under heavy pressure from President Donald Trump.

Political and business leaders, military officers, and intelligence agents convened at two fortified hotels to talk international security and stability at the Munich Security Conference.

This year’s event comes at a time of strained ties between Europe and the United States, after Trump threatened to take over Greenland and criticised European countries’ record on immigration. Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is set to enter its fifth year this month, will be high on the agenda, alongside efforts by European NATO members to build up their defences.

AFP adds: European leaders ahead of the gathering defended their security commitments and vowed to strengthen NATO, after Trump called it into question and accused allies of not spending enough on defence.

Europe is “stepping up… taking more of a leadership role within NATO” and “taking more care of its own defence”, the alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said at an event on transatlantic relations on the sidelines of the conference.

“A strong Europe in a strong NATO means that the transatlantic bond will be stronger than ever.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron were scheduled to address the first day of the conference on Friday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived on Friday, is due to speak at the annual gathering on Saturday, as is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, organisers said.

Rubio is seen as a more conciliatory choice of envoy, a year after Vice President JD Vance used the same stage to attack European policies on immigration and free speech, shocking European allies. Rubio also met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday on the sidelines of the conference, an AFP journalist said, at a time of heightened Washington-Beijing tensions.

Meanwhile relations between Europe and the United States, their traditional allies and guarantors of the continent’s security for decades, are under pressure.

Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has frequently criticised European countries for not sharing enough of the burden on common defence. �”REUTERS, AFP