The United States intends to accelerate the withdrawal of troops from bases in Europe and will present its proposals to NATO allies next month, the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Saturday, citing an unidentified source within the Pentagon. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Welt am Sonntag did not provide details on the speed of the withdrawal or the specific locations that would be affected.

The publication was cited by Reuters. Washington announced plans in May to withdraw 5,000 soldiers from Germany, which hosts approximately 35,000 active-duty American soldiers, more than anywhere else in Europe. The Pentagon stated at the time that the withdrawal was to be completed in six to twelve months.

The United States is to present its plans to allies at the Force Sourcing Conference, a NATO event scheduled for next month, according to the Welt am Sonntag report. Pete Hegseth, head of the Pentagon, criticized Washington's European allies on Saturday, reproaching them for ignoring calls to strengthen their defense "for too long." Hegseth asked European allies to refrain from "moralizing," according to statements reported the same day.

The American military presence in Germany represents the largest concentration of US forces in Europe. The withdrawal of 5,000 troops would reduce that presence by roughly fourteen percent. Germany has hosted substantial numbers of American soldiers since the end of World War II, when the United States maintained forces in the country as part of the postwar occupation and later as a NATO commitment during the Cold War.

The Pentagon's May announcement specified a timeline of six to twelve months for the initial withdrawal from Germany. The Welt am Sonntag report suggests that timeline may now be shortened, though the newspaper did not specify by how much or whether additional locations beyond Germany would be affected by the accelerated pace. The Force Sourcing Conference serves as a regular venue for NATO members to coordinate military planning and resource allocation.

The decision to present withdrawal plans at that forum indicates the United States intends to frame the reduction as part of a broader strategic adjustment rather than a unilateral move. Hegseth's remarks on Saturday represent the most direct public criticism of European defense spending by a senior Pentagon official since the May announcement. His call for allies to refrain from moralizing appeared to reference European objections to previous American military decisions, though he did not specify which policies or statements prompted his comment.

The unnamed Pentagon source cited by Welt am Sonntag did not indicate whether the accelerated withdrawal would affect other European countries hosting American forces. Besides Germany, the United States maintains significant troop presences in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain, as well as smaller contingents in Poland and the Baltic states. Germany's 35,000 American soldiers are distributed across multiple installations, including Ramstein Air Base, which serves as headquarters for US Air Forces in Europe, and the Army's Grafenwöhr Training Area.

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The Pentagon has not disclosed which bases would see reductions under the withdrawal plan. The May announcement came without prior consultation with German officials, according to statements from Berlin at the time. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in May that his ministry had received no advance notice of the decision.

The German government did not immediately comment on the Welt am Sonntag report on Saturday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in May that the alliance would adapt to any changes in American force posture. He did not immediately respond to the latest report of an accelerated timeline.

The Force Sourcing Conference typically occurs in June or July. NATO headquarters in Brussels declined to confirm the specific date for next month's meeting or whether troop withdrawal plans were on the agenda. Hegseth assumed his position as head of the Pentagon in January 2025.

His tenure has been marked by repeated calls for European allies to increase defense spending to meet NATO's target of two percent of gross domestic product. Fifteen of NATO's thirty-two members currently meet that threshold, according to figures released by the alliance in March. The withdrawal from Germany would represent the largest reduction in American forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War drawdown in the 1990s.

At its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, the United States maintained more than 250,000 troops in Germany alone. Welt am Sonntag published its report on Saturday without identifying its Pentagon source by name, position, or department. The newspaper said only that the source had direct knowledge of the withdrawal planning.

Reuters cited the Welt am Sonntag report in its coverage but did not independently confirm the details with US officials. The Pentagon's public affairs office in Washington did not respond to a request for comment submitted Saturday afternoon. A spokesperson for US European Command, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, also did not immediately respond.

The accelerated timeline, if confirmed, would require the Pentagon to move personnel and equipment more quickly than the six-to-twelve-month window announced in May. Military officials said at the time that the original timeline was designed to minimize disruption to ongoing operations and allow for orderly transfers of responsibilities to remaining units.