NATO renews call for stronger Europe, Canada within alliance

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Thursday reiterated his call for a stronger Europe and Canada within the alliance, while stressing the need for a more equitable sharing of responsibilities.

During a joint news briefing with US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, Rutte pointed to the term "NATO 3.0" and called for a stronger Europe and Canada "in a stronger NATO."

"We discussed the absolute need for Europe to step up and Canada to step up in NATO and to have a more honest and a more equitable sharing of what we are doing within NATO with the United States," Rutte said.

Colby, for his part, pointed to the progress made in Europe, saying: "We're actually having a kind of down-to-business conversation about how we go forward together in a world in which Europe ... can and is taking primary responsibility for its own conventional defense."

He further reaffirmed the US' commitment to NATO and to Europe "remaining a critical interest of the United States."

"The spirit that we come in is obviously one, of consultation, of engagement," he also said.