{"id":8933,"date":"2026-04-30T12:46:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/8933\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:46:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:46:06","slug":"germanys-merz-stresses-commitment-to-transatlantic-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/8933\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany’s Merz Stresses Commitment to Transatlantic Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

MUNSTER, Germany, April 30 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Friedrich \u2060Merz \u2060emphasized on Thursday the \u2060importance of the transatlantic partnership with the U.S., just \u200bhours after President Donald Trump said his administration was looking at reducing the number \u200cof U.S. troops in Germany.<\/p>\n

Speaking \u200cto reporters at a military base, Merz said Germany’s compass remained \u2060focused on \u2060a strong NATO military alliance and reliable partnership.<\/p>\n

“As you know, \u200bthis transatlantic partnership is particularly close to our hearts – and to mine personally,” he said.<\/p>\n

Trump has been sparring with Merz over the war in Iran in recent \u200bdays. On Tuesday, he said Merz didn’t know what he was talking \u2060about after \u2060the German leader said \u2060the \u200bIranians were humiliating the U.S. in talks to end the two-month-old war.<\/p>\n

“The United \u200bStates is studying and \u2060reviewing the possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Merz did not mention Trump’s latest comment or take questions \u2060after his statement but reaffirmed Berlin’s openness to participating in a military \u2060mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once conditions were met. The strait has largely been blockaded since the outbreak of the Iran conflict.<\/p>\n

Merz said Berlin remained in “trusting contact” with partners and especially Washington on Iran.<\/p>\n

The U.S. had just over 68,000 active-duty military personnel assigned permanently at its overseas bases in Europe as of December 2025, data from the U.S. Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) shows.<\/p>\n

More than half – \u2060about 36,400 – are based in Germany. That is a fraction of the 250,000 U.S. troops that were based there in 1985, before the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the \u200bCold War.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Reuters TV, writing by Sabine Siebold and \u200bJames Mackenzie; Editing by Bernadette Baum)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.<\/p>\n

Photos You Should See \u2013 April 2026<\/p>\n

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