USA troops in Europe are not only a guarantee for European security, but also a strategic asset for Washington’s global role, the European Union said on Thursday after President Donald Trump threatened to reduce the American military presence in Germany.
Brussels says USA forces strengthen Washington’s global role
The European Union has stressed that keeping USA troops in Europe remains in the interest of the United States itself, not only of European allies.
According to EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper, American forces stationed on the continent support the United States’ wider global role. Her comments came after Trump threatened to cut the number of USA troops in Germany, following criticism from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over Washington’s conduct in the war in the Middle East.
The exchange adds a new layer of tension to a transatlantic relationship already shaped by disputes over defence spending, burden-sharing and Europe’s long-term security dependence on Washington.
Brussels’ message is also a political one. By framing the USA military presence as a strategic asset for Washington, the EU is pushing back against the idea that American deployments in Europe are mainly a favour to allies. The argument is that the same bases and command structures that reassure Europe also help the United States project power, coordinate with NATO and respond to crises beyond the continent.
Germany is the main hub for USA troops in Europe
Germany remains the largest centre of the USA military presence in Europe. Reuters reported, citing USA Defense Manpower Data Center figures, that the United States had just over 68,000 active-duty military personnel permanently assigned to overseas bases in Europe as of December 2025. More than half of them, about 36,400, were based in Germany.
That presence is much smaller than during the Cold War, when the United States had around 250,000 troops in Germany in 1985. But the country still plays a central role in NATO logistics, training, air operations and command structures.
Ramstein Air Base, in western Germany, is one of the most important USA facilities in Europe. Other installations support troop movement, exercises and coordination with allies. A reduction in Germany would therefore not be only a bilateral issue between Berlin and Washington. It could affect the wider architecture of NATO deterrence and USA operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Merz responded to the tensions by reaffirming Germany’s commitment to NATO and to a reliable transatlantic partnership. Speaking at a German military base, he said the partnership with the United States remained close to Germany’s interests, while avoiding a direct reply to Trump’s latest comments.
Higher NATO defence spending changes Europe’s argument
The EU also pointed to the sharp increase in European defence spending. This has become one of the main counterarguments used by European governments when faced with pressure from Washington over burden-sharing.
NATO said in March that European allies and Canada increased defence spending by 20 percent in 2025 compared with 2024. The alliance also reported that, for the first time, all allies met or exceeded the previous target of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defence.
At the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague, allies agreed to a new long-term commitment to invest 5 percent of GDP annually in core defence needs and defence- and security-related spending by 2035. The target includes 3.5 percent for core defence requirements and up to 1.5 percent for areas such as critical infrastructure, resilience and defence industrial capacity.
For European governments, these figures matter because they show that the debate has changed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Several countries have raised military budgets, ordered new equipment and strengthened cooperation. Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO has also shifted the security map of Northern Europe, making the Nordic-Baltic region more central to allied deterrence.
A troop cut would test Europe’s defence autonomy
Trump’s threat comes as Europe is trying to balance two priorities: keeping the United States engaged in NATO while preparing for a scenario in which Washington becomes less predictable as a security guarantor.
A reduction of USA troops in Europe would not automatically weaken NATO’s collective defence. Much would depend on the scale of the cut, the units affected and whether forces were relocated elsewhere or removed from the continent. But it would intensify pressure on European allies to move faster on military readiness, joint procurement, air defence and command coordination.
For Northern Europe, the issue is particularly relevant. Finland’s long border with Russia, Sweden’s NATO membership and the strategic importance of the Baltic Sea have increased the region’s dependence on credible allied reinforcement. A smaller USA footprint in Germany could make European coordination more urgent, even if American capabilities remained available through rotational deployments or other bases.
The EU’s response therefore reflects a broader shift in the transatlantic debate. Europe is spending more and discussing greater autonomy, but it still sees the USA presence as a central part of deterrence. Brussels is now arguing that this presence is not only Europe’s security guarantee. It is also one of the foundations of American power in Europe and beyond.
