U.S. Defense Secretary Announces Six-Month Review of American Forces in Europe

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month review of American forces and bases in Europe during a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. The review will examine U.S. force posture and basing arrangements on the continent.

Hegseth stated that the review is intended to ensure NATO moves "fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe." He said U.S. contributions to NATO will be conditioned on European allies increasing their defense spending and capabilities.

Hegseth said some European countries have prioritized "gender equity, climate change, and social spending" over defense, stating that "instead of tanks and fighters and air defenses, the focus has been on gender equity and climate change and defense austerity." He added that "Europe's borders flew wide open, welfare states expanded, defense budgets cratered," and that certain allies "put America's sons and daughters at risk by denying them the predictable access, basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all."

German Ambassador to the United States Jens Hanefeld told Fox News Digital that Germany is ready to assume greater responsibility for European security. He stated that Chancellor Friedrich Merz has directed that Germany's armed forces "should become the strongest conventional army in Europe," describing the decision as "an ongoing commitment" well anchored in NATO.

NATO leaders pledged at a summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025, to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Hegseth previously addressed the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on May 30, 2026.