US to withdraw some troops from Europe, Romania says

Romania and NATO allies were notified of US plans to cut the number of troops stationed on Europe's eastern flank including soldiers who were to be stationed at Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu air base, Romania's defence ministry said on Wednesday.

Washington's European allies have been told previously by the administration of President Donald Trump that they will need to take more responsibility for their own security as the United States focuses more on its own borders and the Indo-Pacific region.

"The American decision is to stop the rotation in Europe of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries," the defence ministry said.

It said the decision was expected given changes in Washington's priorities, but that roughly 1,000 US troops will continue to be stationed in Romania.

"The decision also took into account that NATO has consolidated its presence and activity on the eastern flank which enables the United States to adjust its military posture in the region," the ministry said. It did not specify how many US troops will be withdrawn.

NATO said Wednesday it had been informed in advance of US plans to reduce some of its troops deployed on the alliance's eastern flank, describing the move as an "adjustment" and nothing "unusual".

"Even with this adjustment, the US force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years, with many more US forces on the continent than before 2022," a NATO official said, adding Washington's commitment to the alliance remained "clear".

Despite worries on NATO's eastern flank about the potential scaling back of the United States' presence in the region, Trump said in September that Washington could increase its troop presence in Poland.