Troop Drawdown in Germany Worries EU   05/04 06:25

   European leaders on Monday said that U.S. President Donald Trump's snap 
decision to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany came as a surprise but 
is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security.

   YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- European leaders on Monday said that U.S. President 
Donald Trump's snap decision to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany 
came as a surprise but is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own 
security.

   The Pentagon announced last week that it would pull some 5,000 troops out of 
Germany, but Trump told reporters on Saturday that "we're going to cut way 
down. And we're cutting a lot further than 5,000."

   He offered no reason for the move, which blindsided NATO, but his decision 
came amid an escalating dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the 
U.S-Israeli war on Iran, and Trump's anger that European allies have been 
reluctant to get involved in the conflict in the Middle East.

   Asked about the decision to pull out 5,000 troops from Germany, Norwegian 
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said: "I wouldn't exaggerate that because I 
think we are expecting that Europe is taking more charge of its own security.

   "I do not see those figures as dramatic, but I think they should be handled 
in a harmonious way inside the framework of NATO," he told reporters in 
Yerevan, Armenia, where European leaders are holding a summit.

   The European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said "there has been 
a talk about withdrawal of U.S. troops for a long time from Europe. But of 
course, the timing of this announcement comes as a surprise."

   "I think it shows that we have to really strengthen the European pillar in 
NATO," she said.

   Asked whether she believes that Trump is trying to punish Merz, who said 
that the U.S. has been humiliated by Iran in talks to end the war, Kallas said: 
"I don't see into the head of President Trump, so he has to explain it himself."

   Over the weekend, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said that officials at the 
32-nation military alliance "are working with the U.S. to understand the 
details of their decision on force posture in Germany."

   European allies and Canada have known since just after he came to office 
again last year that Trump would pull troops out of Europe -- indeed some left 
Romania in October -- but U.S. officials had pledged to coordinate any moves 
with their NATO allies to avoid creating a security vacuum.

   NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte played down the move, saying that "there 
has been at this point disappointment on the U.S. side" about European support 
for the war on Iran.

   Notably France, Spain and the U.K. have declined to give U.S. forces free 
rein to use bases on their territory to attack Iran. Spain has denied them the 
use of its airspace and bases there for the war.

   But Rutte, who has championed Trump's leadership at NATO despite the U.S. 
president's criticism of the majority of the allies, said: "I would say the 
Europeans have heard a message. They are now making sure that all the bilateral 
basing agreements are being implemented."

   Rutte added that European nations "have decided to pre-position assets, key 
assets, close to the theater for the next phase."

   He provided no details, but the Europeans have insisted they would not help 
police the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy trade route, until the war is over.

   French President Emmanuel Macron said "if the United States is ready to 
reopen Hormuz, that's great. That's what we've been asking for since the 
beginning." But he underlined that the Europeans are not ready to get involved 
in any operation "that does not seem clear to us."

   In another sign of friction with Merz, Trump has accused the EU of not 
complying with its U.S. trade deal and announced plans to increase tariffs next 
week on cars and trucks produced in the bloc to 25%, a move that would be 
particularly damaging to Germany, a major automobile manufacturer.

   Without mentioning Trump or the United States, European Commission President 
Ursula von der Leyen listed recent trade deals that the bloc has sealed with 
Australia and India, and is now working on with Mexico.

   "With like-minded friends, you have stable, reliable supply chains and 
Europe has the biggest network of free trade agreements," von der Leyen, who is 
from Germany, told reporters.