Nato chief warns of weakened military

The alliance's secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, emphasised that the European allies are pulling their weight in the war in Afghanistan, where they account for 40 per cent of Nato's 120,000-strong expeditionary force.

But shrinking defence budgets during the economic downturn are causing a growing discrepancy in military capabilities between the US and Europe's Nato members, he said. Most European nations are not even meeting the minimal requirement of devoting 2 per cent of their GDP to defence.

America's latest defence budget of more than $710 billion dwarfs the combined military annual expenditures of its European allies, which total about $280bn. Despite the added expenses of the Afghan war, many European capitals are planning further cuts or freezing their current outlays.

Analysts have noted that the discrepancies could cause falling public support for the alliance in the US.

"The Europeans should not take this strong relationship for granted," Rasmussen told a conference on transatlantic security in Brussels. "The Lisbon Treaty provides the EU with a stronger defence capability… but this will remain a paper tiger if it is not followed by concrete contributions when we need concrete military contributions."

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is leading a group of experts drafting Nato's new mission statement, said that, despite the gap in defence spending, the Europeans have done their share in missions such as Afghanistan.

"When we look into defence spending, then obviously there's a gap. But when it comes to political commitment I think we are witnessing a very strong European determination to share the burden," she said.

Rasmussen said the Europeans could demonstrate their commitment to defence by developing and deploying an anti-missile system for the continent.