BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st July, 2020) The sudden decision of the US President Donald Trump administration to pull almost 12,000 troops from Germany and station at least some them in Belgium has stunned both politicians and analysts in Europe, making them guess about its outcomes for the relations between EU countries and Washington as well as the future of the defense configuration on the continent.
On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced the reposition of 11,900 personnel currently stationed in Germany. Approximately 5,600 of them will be moved out from Germany to other locations, while additional 6,400 people would come back to the US.
During the meeting, Air Force General Tod Wolters, the head of United States European Command (EUCOM) mentioned that the EUCOM and Special Operations Command-Europe headquarters would be relocated to the city of Mons in Belgium, where the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is located there as well.
The decision comes at the heels of the prolonged debate between Washington and Berlin about Germany's lackluster financing of its military, below the mandatory two percent of the budget, demanded by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
For the small kingdom this is important news since, if Washington's initiative comes through, Belgium will become a centerpiece in the region's security hosting the NATO headquarters in Evere-Brussels, as well as the SHAPE and the EUCOM.
Sputnik has consulted with members of the Belgian lower house's defense committee only to find out they are just as confused as anyone else.
"This decision comes out of the blue. We were not informed at all, even in the Defence Committee ... For Belgium it is a good thing, it is the recognition of the military-diplomatic hub that we represent," Christophe Bombled, a lawmaker from center-right Reformist Movement political party.
The lawmaker agreed with Trump that many EU countries are not pulling their weight, Germany being the most visible one.
His Socialist colleague, Andre Flahaut, a former defense minister, has a somewhat similar opinion, although he is more cautious regarding the possibility of the decision being implemented.
"It should not pose any difficulties: a few hundred high-ranking officers transferred to the SHAPE premises in Mons, it would be a good thing for Belgium ... Of course, we are in an election year in the USA. Everything is very volatile. This decision may never become a reality. Let's not forget that we are all in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and that some may be seeking to focus elsewhere than on the pandemic," he said.
According to Professor Michel Liegeois from the UCLouvain university, it is to early to analyze the decision in detail.
"The United States is in the middle of an election campaign, so nothing is trivial in the decisions announced. It will be necessary to decode the part of strategic thinking and its meaning, but also its possible improvised and not very rational character. Donald Trump has many flaws, but he does what he says. He is carrying out his agenda, with a reduction in the US military presence around the world and a rebalancing of NATO," Liegeois told Sputnik.
He added that the initiative will anchor Belgium in the heart of Europe's' security.
The German government has acknowledged the US decision without commenting on it, likely hoping that the November election will prevent the troops' relocation to take place.
"It is not bad news for Germany. Seventy-five years after the end of the [Second World] War and 30 years after the end of the Cold War, it is time that all foreign forces leave Germany. So, it is a step forward in the right direction," Maximilian Krah, an AfD lawmaker at the European Parliament, told Sputnik.
He, however, has highlighted two issues, first of which is the very nature of the country's armed forces, created as a break from the Prussian military tradition after the war, and in need of reform.
"Second, the goal of two-percent military spending is, in my mind, not necessary. The real threat to Western Europe comes from the South and the Middle East, it is illegal immigration and Islamic terrorism ... We would only need a military budget of two percent of GDP if we considered Russia as our enemy, but I don't share this idea. It is simply ridiculous to me," Krah added.
Regardless of whether the US decision ever comes to fruition, so far, it has at least managed to surprise the European political class, making them address the issue of the European defenses and the role Washington in them.
