For decades, American foreign policy elites have complained about European free-riding on US security guarantees. Europeans, we were told, enjoyed the benefits of American military protection while spending their peace dividends on generous social programs, refusing to meet NATO spending targets, and lecturing Washington about multilateralism. The irony is that now, when Europeans are finally showing signs of taking their security interests seriously, many in Washington are treating it as a problem rather than the solution we’ve long demanded.

The recent moves by European nations to boost defense spending, coordinate military procurement, and develop autonomous strategic capabilities represent not a rejection of the transatlantic alliance, but rather its maturation. This is what a multipolar world actually looks like, and American policymakers need to decide whether they genuinely want burden-sharing or simply prefer compliant, if useless, client states.

The combination of factors driving Europe’s strategic reassessment is clear enough. The return of great power competition, instability on Europe’s periphery, questions about American reliability regardless of which party controls the White House, and the recognition that the post-Cold War peace dividend has evaporated have concentrated minds in European capitals. The Ukraine conflict has served as a clarifying moment, demonstrating that European security cannot be perpetually outsourced to Washington.

France and Germany are leading discussions about a European defense architecture that can function independently when necessary. Poland and the Baltic states are building serious military capabilities. Even traditionally neutral nations are........

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