Thousands of U.S. soldiers stand in formation Dec. 3, 2023. The European Union has been aware of a purported Pentagon plan to pull 10,000 U.S. troops from Europe since the administration of President Joe Biden, Italy's defense minister said this week. (Brian Barbour/Army National Guard)
NAPLES, Italy — The European Union won’t struggle to fill a void left by the potential departure of thousands of U.S. troops from Europe, Italy’s defense chief said this week.
Those American service members would be readily replaced with European contingents, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told the news agency Ansa on Tuesday.
Crosetto did not elaborate on which countries would deploy more troops. But he added that the EU had known about a Pentagon plan to pull at least 10,000 troops from the Continent since President Joe Biden’s administration.
“It is not unexpected. It is something we have been preparing for a long time; now we will need to understand with what timing it will be made,” Crosetto said during a visit to Albania that included the donation of an Italian patrol ship to the country.
It wasn’t clear how quickly the EU could step up to fill the security gap. European militaries must address years of underinvestment, which has resulted in a shortfall in ammunition, air defense systems and other capabilities.
There are about 65,000 active-duty U.S. service members permanently stationed in Europe, with thousands more U.S.-based service members deployed to Europe on a rotational basis.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. has maintained an overall force level in Europe of about 100,000 troops.
Washington has not made any statements regarding a possible withdrawal of U.S. troops in Europe except to say that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reviewing the military’s force posture.
But experts say it’s likely the Defense Department will shift some forces to the Pacific as the U.S. balances looming Chinese threats against obligations in Europe focused on deterring Russian aggression.
President Donald Trump has long advocated for a force reduction in Europe along with increased defense spending by NATO countries, arguing that the Continent’s security cannot be disproportionately borne by American taxpayers.
On Tuesday, NBC News reported that the Pentagon was considering a plan to withdraw some 10,000 troops from Romania and Poland, citing six unidentified U.S. and European officials familiar with the plan. Most U.S. troops in those countries are on rotational deployments.
The Army has three rotational brigade combat teams in Europe, two of which were added in 2022 after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Biden administration considered reducing the extra rotations, which ultimately remained.
With about 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers to a brigade, cutting the rotational assets could realize any objective to reassign 10,000 service members.
But any weakening of U.S. posture in the region would hurt efforts to quickly respond to Russian aggression, Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. troops in Europe and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said during a House Armed Services Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Cavoli recommended that the U.S. keep its military footprint in Europe as is, noting that of all NATO militaries, Russia fears America’s the most.
Stars and Stripes reporters John Vandiver in Germany and Svetlana Shkolnikova in Washington contributed to this report.
