Berlin stresses shared interests as US set to pull out 5,000 troops

BERLIN - German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Saturday stressed that the United States and Germany have shared military interests after the announcement that thousands of U.S. service members would be withdrawn from bases across Germany.

“The presence of American troops in Europe, and particularly in Germany, lies in our interest and in the interest of the U.S,” Pistorius told dpa.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier ordered the pullback of around 5,000 U.S. service members from bases in Germany. A Defense Department spokesman said the withdrawal is to be concluded within the next 12 months. The details remain unclear.

The decision follows a public spat between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier in the week. Merz made an unguarded comment suggesting the Iranian government has “humiliated” the U.S. in negotiations, prompting an angry response from President Donald Trump.

Berlin: ‘We work closely together’

On Saturday, Germany’s Pistorius said the decision was not unexpected and had been “predictable.”

“We work closely together with the Americans - in Ramstein, in Grafenwöhr, in Frankfurt and elsewhere - for peace and security in Europe, for Ukraine and for joint deterrence,” Pistorius said. The U.S. maintains its main airbase for Europe and Africa at Ramstein in southwestern Germany.

He noted that the U.S. maintained other military functions at its German bases for its security interests in Africa and the Middle East too.

Pistorius said it was evident that NATO had to become more European to remain trans-Atlantic. “We European must take on greater responsibility for our security,” he said.

Pistorius said he would coordinate future military tasks with the Group of Five, comprising France, Italy, Poland, the United Kingdom and Germany. 

NATO coordinating with Washington

A NATO spokeswoman said on Saturday that NATO officials are coordinating with their U.S. counterparts to ascertain the details of the planned withdrawal of their service members from bases in Germany.

“We are working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany,” the spokeswoman posted on X.

“This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defense and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security - where we’re already seeing progress since Allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP at the NATO Summit in The Hague last year,” she added.

NATO remained confident in its ability to provide for deterrence and defense as this shift towards a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO continued, she said.

Past threats

During his first term as president, Trump also threatened to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany.

U.S. military figures from April show some 86,000 U.S. soldiers are currently stationed in Europe, including around 39,000 in Germany. The number changes regularly, partly because of rotations and military exercises.

For decades, there have been dozens of major U.S. military bases in Europe that are of enormous importance to U.S. operations globally, including in the Middle East. Troops, weapons, ships and aircraft are stationed there, drones are controlled from the bases and wounded personnel are treated.

In Germany, these include the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) in Stuttgart and Ramstein Air Base in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate, which serves as a hub for the U.S. Air Force. The U.S. also maintains important bases in Italy and the United Kingdom.

The U.S. Congress passed a security mechanism at the end of 2025 under which the total number of forces permanently stationed in the European Command area of responsibility may not fall below 76,000 for more than 45 days. After that, certain reporting requirements would have to be met to pursue a reduction.

Economic impact

The Rhineland-Palatinate state government is concerned about the announced withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany. “I have serious fears that we in Rhineland-Palatinate may also be affected by these announcements,” said state premier Alexander Schweitzer. Incoming government head Gordon Schnieder also said he was worried. 

“It is not just a matter of cooperation on security policy issues,” Schneider said. “The presence of the stationed forces here is also an economic issue.”

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This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 12:10 PM.