How Europe Can Defend Itself with Less America
With the war in Ukraine and a potential reduction of U.S. military presence in Europe on the horizon, there is a renewed imperative for European leaders to strengthen and integrate their defense capabilities. How Europe Can Defend Itself with Less America examines the military gaps that would be created by a significant reduction of the U.S. military footprint in Europe. The report outlines five key tasks Europeans should undertake to address these gaps and deter further Russian aggression: creating a pan-European force, integrating weapons procurement, expanding stockpiles, mitigating dependence on U.S. enablers, and building redundancy in command structures.
This study was originally published by CSIS in October 2025.
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Table of contents
Introduction 1
How the United States Ensures European Security 5
Europe’s Challenge: Deterring Russia Without the United States 13
Transforming European Defense 15
Conclusion 33
About the Authors 35
Endnotes 36