German Marshall Fund of the United States Launches New European Defense Initiative
As the European security architecture enters a period of disruptive and structural change, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is launching a major new initiative to deliver a roadmap for European defense in a new era of transatlantic responsibility-sharing.
This initiative builds directly on the policy recommendations of GMF’s bipartisan Transatlantic Task Force report, Rebalancing Transatlantic Relations — A Roadmap for 2030, released on June 24, 2025, outlining concrete steps for governments, institutions, and industries on both sides of the Atlantic.
Through high-level workshops, scenario sessions, and data-driven research across GMF’s transatlantic office network—from Washington, DC, and Brussels to Berlin, Paris, London, Warsaw, Bucharest and Ankara—the European Defense Roadmap: A Transatlantic Path to Responsibility-Sharing will deliver a structured, actionable blueprint for Europe to assume primary responsibility for its own defense while preserving alliance cohesion and US engagement where it matters most. Over the coming months, GMF will convene the full spectrum of key transatlantic stakeholders: governments, EU and NATO institutions, defense and tech industries, and leading experts to shape what comes next.
“The transition from a US-led security order in Europe towards a European-led framework, supported, but no longer directed, by the United States, is well underway,” said Dr. Claudia Major, senior vice president of Transatlantic Security at GMF in Berlin. “For European allies, adapting to a reduced and more conditional US security role will require fundamentally different planning, coordinated investments, and a shared framework for collective deterrence and defense.”
This initiative comes as Europe confronts the consequences of simultaneous wars in Ukraine and the Middle East alongside political, technological, and industrial vulnerabilities. The old burden-sharing debate, long measured in GDP percentages and defense budgets, is no longer sufficient. Transatlantic trust has been undermined. What is needed is a strategic contribution framework that reframes the conversation in terms Washington can act on and Brussels can deliver: not just how much Europe spends, but what Europe can do—reliably and at scale—within EU, NATO, and/or coalition frameworks.
“US and European allies have a shared interest in ensuring that the roadmap is operationalized in an orderly and constructive manner that limits capability and leadership gaps and maintains credible deterrence,” said GMF President Dr. Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer. “In the months ahead, GMF will lead and shape the necessary trusted platforms, tailored analysis, and structured timeline that will define the parameters of a more cohesive, capable European security framework.”