US says troops review will speed up Europe taking on own defense

Andrea Palasciano, Bloomberg News on Aug 27, 2026

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. aims to “advance and accelerate” the transfer of responsibility for most of Europe’s own conventional defense as Washington continues a review of its troop presence, a top Pentagon official said.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby arrived in Brussels for talks with NATO allies on Thursday to update them on the progress of the six-month review, which is expected to conclude by the end of the year and bring sizeable changes to the U.S. military footprint on the continent.

As part of the process, allies received a U.S. questionnaire, which is due this Friday and was seen by Bloomberg, that included queries on whether countries have been “publicly supportive” of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, restrictions on U.S. military base use and whether nations are spending money with U.S. defense contractors.

“We wanted to hear from allies directly, in writing,” Colby told reporters alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte ahead of their meeting at alliance headquarters. His visit is linked to the questionnaire, which surprised many capitals earlier this summer.

NATO’s European allies want to reassure Colby, author of the U.S. national defense strategy, about their ongoing efforts to rearm Europe and take up more responsibility for its defense, and to express their wish to keep U.S. troops present and visible on the continent, Bloomberg has reported previously.

Colby on Thursday singled out Poland, Germany and the Netherlands for their “extraordinary investments” in defense. He also reiterated the U.S.’s support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

As part of the effort to discourage the Trump administration from reducing its military footprint, NATO’s eastern European countries have offered to cut costs for U.S. troops stationed on their soil.

Their concerns have only grown as Russia is preparing to escalate attacks on Ukraine after concluding that negotiations for a peace deal have reached a dead end, according to people close to the Kremlin. Europe has also seen an escalation in the acts of sabotage that have been linked to Moscow.

This meeting in Brussels comes a day after Colby visited the U.S. European command, where he hailed a “superb meeting” with Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, who is closely involved in the U.S. forces posture review on the continent.

—With assistance from Sonya Dymova.