Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that the Western NATO military alliance is in jeopardy of “disintegration” in the wake of the announced U.S. troop drawdown in Germany.
On Friday, the Pentagon said that around 5,000 soldiers would be relocated from bases in Germany over the next year amid a broader shift in the forward deployment of U.S. forces. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the drawdown in Germany would likely be much larger, though he did not specify how many more of the approximately 36,000 U.S. troops would be relocated from the country.
President Trump has also suggested moving American forces out of countries such as Italy and Spain, all of whom he has accused of disloyalty over their response to the conflict against the Islamist regime in Iran.
While the U.S. administration has not suggested a withdrawal from Poland, where some 8,500 troops are currently stationed, Prime Minister Donald Tusk nevertheless warned that the NATO alliance was on the brink.
Writing on X, the Polish leader remarked: “The greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance. We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend.”
It comes after Tusk openly questioned America’s loyalty to Europe last week, expressing doubts that Washington would honour Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which mandates member states to come to the defence of each other if under attack, despite President Trump consistently affirming that the U.S. would stand by its allies if called upon.
Speaking to the globalist-oriented Financial Times, Tusk said that Europe’s “biggest, most important question is if the United States is ready to be as loyal as it is described in our [NATO] treaties.”
“I want to believe that [Article 5] is still valid, but sometimes, of course, I have some problems,” he said. “I don’t want to be so pessimistic… but what we need today is also practical context.”
Tusk, who formerly served as the head of the European Council in Brussels, has also been at the forefront of transforming the EU into a fully-fledged defensive alliance, potentially with its own dedicated army, a far cry from its original purpose of providing a framework for free trade throughout the continent.
Tusk recently met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the possibility of Paris extending its nuclear weapons umbrella throughout Europe and the prospect of stationing French nukes in Poland. Macron, who is seeking a legacy as his second and final term draws to a close, has also been in talks with other major European powers, such as Germany, about stationing French nukes in the country.
For its part, Berlin has claimed it will aim to have the strongest army in Europe by 2039, with plans to field 460,000 combat-ready troops. However, the government has consistently struggled to meet recruitment targets among its increasingly apathetic country.
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