Eagle Intelligence Reports

Kallas: Europe Must ‘Step Up’ on Defense as Trump Upends Ties

Eagle Intelligence Reports • January 28, 2026 •

Europe must ramp up efforts on defense and play a bigger role in NATO as US President Donald Trump has “shaken the transatlantic relationship to its foundation,” EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Wednesday.

“This shift has been ongoing for a while. It is structural, not temporary. It means that Europe must step up — no great power in history has outsourced its survival and survived,” Kallas told a defense conference in Brussels.

She said that Washington remained a key partner, but insisted as US focus shifts that Western military alliance NATO “needs to become more European to maintain its strength.” (AFP)