At the just-concluded 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague, The Netherlands, history did not just unfold. History was carefully steered. At a time when the Western alliance faces internal fractures, there is transatlantic fatigue. There are also mounting global threats. Yet, the European Union did not emerge as a disjointed bloc of bureaucracies. The EU came out as a strategic actor with resolve, restraint, and refined diplomatic dexterity. The summit revealed so much that need not be repeated here. Nonetheless, the most notable revelation is the laying bare of the EU’s quiet containment of President Donald Trump’s destabilising impulses. This was done through the characteristic European purposeful politics and calibrated diplomacy.
The summit’s defining headline may be the unprecedented agreement to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. This is a leap that silences years of criticism from Washington, especially from Trump, about European freeloading. But buried beneath the numbers lies a more compelling story. It is about how Europe managed to uphold NATO’s cohesion and project unity. At the same time, Europe subtly neutralised the toxic unpredictability of the Trump doctrine.
Unlike previous NATO gatherings marked by President Trump’s incendiary outbursts, this year’s summit was different. There were no threats to abandon Article 5. It was notable for what didn’t happen. There was no explosive press conference, no ridicule of allies, and no disruption of summit communiqués. Instead, EU leaders adopted a mature, layered response strategy. First, they embraced a pragmatic posture, meeting Trump’s demands halfway by bolstering military expenditure. But in tandem, the EU was shaping the narrative to suit European realities. Second, they invested in soft containment. They reaffirmed NATO’s core values and buttressed Ukraine. They also advanced strategic autonomy in case America once again wavers.
At the centre of this diplomatic choreography was NATO’s new Secretary-General, Mark Rutte. The former Prime Minister of The Netherlands is seen as a steady hand whose transatlantic credibility proved invaluable. His presence, familiar to Trump yet anchored in European consensus-building, was key to managing the optics of loyalty without subservience. In many ways, Rutte symbolised Europe’s pivot from a reactive to a proactive actor in global affairs.
Nowhere was this clearer than in the calibrated support for Ukraine. While the summit formally limited Ukraine’s presence, it deepened military and financial backing. It also includes air-defense systems and fast-tracked integration. Rather than provoke Trump with overt expansionist rhetoric, Europe delivered substance over symbolism. In that symbolism lies another hallmark of seasoned European diplomacy.
The EU smartly redefined what defense means in the contemporary world. They embedded the 5% defense commitment within a framework that includes infrastructure. This framework also covers cyber-resilience and civil protection. This framing not only broadened the coalition of contributors but also softened the brute militarism Trump typically champions. It is, in effect, a Europeanisation of deterrence: multidimensional, layered, and sustainable.
Critics may argue that Europe still operates in America’s shadow. Yet, what transpired in The Hague shows that shadow is now cast by two actors, not one. Europe’s investments in strategic autonomy, through joint procurement, shared stockpiles, and integrated infrastructure, signal that the U.S. remains indispensable. It is at the same time, no longer irreplaceable.
For Africa and the Global South, Europe’s diplomatic balancing act offers lessons. It is possible to engage powerful partners without capitulating. It is possible to play the long game even in an era of transactional geopolitics. And it is certainly possible to lead without bombast.
As the dust settles on the summit, the EU must now match diplomatic gains with delivery. Defense spending must be realised, not just promised. Ukraine must see results, not just reassurance. And Europe must internalise this moment. It is not a victory lap, but a turning point toward becoming a geopolitical actor in its own right.
In The Hague, NATO’s future was safeguarded. There was no shouting across the table. There was instead strategic whispering across aisles. If that’s not purposeful politics, I do not know what is.