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The United States has begun a review of its military presence in Europe as part of efforts to shift greater responsibility for conventional defence to its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies, US officials said on Monday.
US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy, Elbridge Colby, said the assessment follows remarks by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to NATO defence ministers last month that Washington would reassess its force posture across the continent.
“As the Secretary (Hegseth) laid out then, this will be a real review, designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe taking primary responsibility for its conventional defence,” Colby said.
“The outcome of this Review will be an acceleration of NATO’s transition to a stronger, more equitable, and sustainable alliance,” Colby added.
The review comes as President Donald Trump continues to criticise European allies over their response to the recent conflict involving Iran, including their refusal to allow US forces to use military bases during the early stages of the fighting.
Hegseth has also warned that the United States could scale back its commitment to NATO unless member states meet agreed defence spending targets.
Washington has been clear with Europe that it wants NATO allies on the continent to take over primary responsibility for their own conventional defence as the US focus shifts towards China.
As part of that broader policy, the Pentagon has already informed allies that it is reducing the number of assets it makes available for NATO operations worldwide.
