The NATO alliance will become more European-led, with a continuing strong presence of the United States, as European allies significantly increase military spending, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Friday.

"Over the coming years we will more and more sea a NATO that is more European-led, but at the same time with the US absolutely anchored in the organization," Rutte told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

"We will do this step by step, in close conjunction with the United States, based on the defense planning process we have."